Hello friends, today I’ll tell you a very lovely story.

Once, many stones were brought in to build a temple. Craftsmen were also called in to carve them. One craftsman picked up a stone and began to strike it. The stone felt a lot of pain and began to cry out, “Don’t hit me! I cannot bear this pain!” So the craftsman set it aside and picked up a second stone. The second stone endured a few blows, but then it too began to cry out, “Stop hitting me! I cannot endure this pain anymore!” The craftsman set this partially-carved stone aside and picked up a third one.

The third stone silently endured every single blow. It was eventually shaped into a statue. The statue was of a god, and it was placed inside the temple during the inauguration. The stone that had endured a few blows was placed at the entrance, and the stone that had cried out after the very first blow was placed on the steps outside the temple.

When the temple was opened, devotees came to see the god. Everyone stepped on the first stone on the stairs with their shoes on, and then bowed to the second stone at the entrance. But when they entered, they all bowed their heads in reverence to the statue of the god.

What is the moral of this story? When our teachers or parents tell us something, we shouldn’t see it as pain. Instead, we should take it as a command for our lives. When difficulties come our way, we shouldn’t turn our backs on them and run away. We should face them. When we face our difficulties, we will also emerge as a special and good person, just like the statue. Everyone will bow before us. Otherwise, we’ll remain like the stepping stone and the stone on the stairs.

I hope you liked this story. We’ll meet with another story next time. Namaste.