Story of the week - The Three Dolls

[Guest guest]

Story of the weekSaturday, January 31, 2004

 

The Three Dolls

It was a king's court, the ministers, pundits and artists were all seated in

their respective places. The king and his ministers had earned quite a name and

fame for their wit and wisdom. One day a sage entered the court. He was given a

warm welcome with all honor due to him. The king asked him: "Oh revered one!

May I know what brings you here? We are very happy on account of your presence

here today." The sage replied: "Oh King, your court is reputed for its wit and

wisdom. I have brought three beautiful dolls and I would like to have an

assessment and evaluation of these dolls done by your ministers." He presented

to the king the three dolls. The king called his senior most minister and gave

him the dolls for examination and evaluation. The minister just looked once at

the dolls and commanded a royal messenger to fetch him a thin steel-wire.

The minister inserted the wire into the right ear of one of the dolls. The wire

came out of the left ear. He kept it aside. He took up another doll and once

again passed the wire into its right ear. It came out of the mouth of the doll.

He kept that doll in one place. He took up the third doll and inserted the wire,

it neither came out of the other ear nor from the mouth. The king and the

courtiers were eagerly watching the scene. The minister paying his tributes to

the sage said: "Oh revered one." Of the three dolls, the third one is the best.

The three dolls actually are symbolic of three types of listening. There are

three types of listeners, in the world. The first type listen to every word,

only to pass it out from the other ear. The second type listen well, remember

it well only to speak out all that they have heard. The third type listen,

retain everything they have heard and treasure it up in their hearts. They are

the best type of listeners." The sage congratulated the

king and the minister on the successful evaluation of the dolls and blessing

them both, left the court.

'Shravanam' is the first and the foremost among the nine types of devotion.

Having heard the words of the wise, we should try to revolve their meaning and

message in our minds and put them into practise to elevate our lives.

— Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Source: Chinna Katha II, 50http://beaskund.helloyou.ws/askbaba/stories/s1004.html

 

 

SiteBuilder - Free web site building tool. Try it!