Where there is a will, there is a way

The book talks about the story of Dhruva. Even though Dhruva was only five years old, he was determined to find God. He had no idea about meditation or penance. But he was fearless and set out anyway. Narada, the celestial sage taught him how to meditate and sent him to Madhuvana. In the end, Dhruva attained the blessing of Lord Vishnu.

Where there is a will, there is a way and God shows us that way. So true, isnt it?

Kindness to nature

This story talks about the importance to be kinds to all beings and nature in general. If you think about it, human beings are the only ones who exploit nature for their own selfish reasons. In spite of that, nature keeps providing for us altruistically through the trees, water, air and other amenities.

We have to start caring for mother Earth and all the living beings before it becomes too late.

Fall and Rise of a King

Vishwamitra was initially a king who finally became a Brahmarishi like Sage Vasishta by his sheer willpower. The story has a few points that we may be able to apply in our lives.

1. Irrespective of all the odds that we face, determination (along with God's grace of course) is the only thing that that will make us successful

2. When we read the stories of historical or mythological characters, it is important to focus on the takeaway message. For example- You could look at Vishwamitra's story and think this person does not seem to be able to control his senses time and again. But then again, the right way of looking at it would be, no matter how many times he failed, he rose back up each time. The resilience of Vishwamitra is the key takeaway from this story.

Beware of the company you keep

In Ramayana, Kaikeyi was known to be very affectionate with Rama initially. Manthara's evil council changed Kaikeyi's mind. Had it not been for Manthara, Kaikeyi would not have planned Rama's exile and Bharata's coronation. That is why this Umachi book from the Rama Series (Book 4) has been named "An Evil Plot". Manthara was responsible for sowing the evil thought in Kaikeyi's mind.

In Bhaja Govindam (a composition of Adi Shankara) There is a paragraph which mentions the following -

Sat Sangatve nissangatvam, Nissangatve nirmohatvam ....

It essentially means, Satsang or good company is the first step towards one's liberation.

Thoughts?

Significance of Gajendra's story

The Story of Gajendra (The king who was transformed into an elephant) has a deeper significance. In this story, Gajendra enters a lake and plays with his friends when he is trapped by a crocodile. He tries to free himself but is unsuccessful. None of his friends are able to help him. The elephant surrendered to God.  God alone was able to rescue him.

The significance in real life is - all of us (humans) are like Gajendra. The lake that he entered is like this world, where we live with other people (friends, family etc.). The grip of the crocodile symbolizes the calamities and troubles that we face.

The takeaway from this story is that - while we live in this world with our family, friends and society, when we face problems, the only one who can rescue us is God.

Mahabali

In the story of Mahabali, Even though Mahabali was a good person, he had forgotten humility when he became powerful. He underestimated the power of the little man who visited him, who was none other than Vishnu himself. We never know in what form God may appear before us and hence we should never forget to be humble.

With power comes responsibility

In Ramayana, we also see the sixth avatar of Vishnu, who was Parasurama. Vishnu took the Avatar as Parasurama to control the dominance of Kshatriyas. Parasurama even though born as a Brahmin, had great power by god's grace. After he taught a lesson to the Kings and the Kshatriya race, he did not stop. He continued destroying them. He forgot his true responsibility. Only after Rama defeated him in a combat, Parasurama realized his folly.