Lord Rama and his army of monkeys were preparing for war with Ravana. Rama asked his army to build a bridge over the sea, to reach Lanka ( to get his wife Sita, who was abducted by Ravana and was held captive in his Kingdom). Work began at
once to lay a stone bridge. The monkeys pulled out rocks and heavy stones from the mountains and carried them to the sea. The stones were cut into desired shape and they began the bridge construction.
Thousands of monkeys worked day and night, as it was not an easy task to build a bridge on the sea. One day, Rama saw a small Brown Squirrel. He was going up and down the seashore with little pebbles in his mouth. The little squirrel could
carry only little pebbles at a time, as he was a very small creature. He carried the pebbles from the seashore and dropped them into the sea.
A big monkey was carrying a heavy stone on his back, and the Squirrel came in the monkey’s way. The monkey was about to step his foot on the Squirrel, and steps back and shouts at the Squirrel “you are such a small creature, what are you
doing here “?? The little squirrel looked at the giant monkey and says, ” I’m sorry, that you were about to fall , because of me, brother. I’m helping my lord Rama build the bridge , and I’m working hard for him”.
Hearing this , all the monkeys burst out in laughter. All the monkeys start to make fun of the Squirrel , teasing that , they have never heard such a funny story. Then the Squirrel explains , ” I can’t carry mountains or rocks. God gave me
only a little strength, I can carry only pebbles. I will do my level best for my Rama “.
Then the monkeys say,” dont be foolish, do you think we can build a bridge with pebbles “? The Squirrel least bothered about the monkeys remarks, start to do his work of carrying the pebbles. The monkeys become angry, and one of the monkey
picks up the squirrel by his tail and throws him away.
The Squirrel, crying out the name of Rama, falls into his hands! Then Rama holds the squirrel close to him. He says to the monkeys, “we should never make fun of the weak and the small. What matters is the love, with which we accomplish any
task, and it doesn’t depend upon the strength or what work we do ! ”
Rama further says “you are laying the bridge with huge stones , but did you realise that, the huge stones are binded together only because of the small gaps between them, being filled by the tiny grains of sand, got by the squirrel? ” “And
due to this, the huge stones on the structure, have become strong “. And yet, you are scolding this small creature!”. Hearing this, all the Vanaras become ashamed and bow down their heads.
Rama then turned to the Squirrel and thanked him for the help, and saying this he gently stroked the back of the Squirrel with his fingers, and thus three lines were formed, where the Lord Rama’s fingers had touched the Squirrel !
What we learn from this story
1.Every task should be given importance , however small it may be.
2.Have confidence in yourself.
3.Never give up in life.
4.Don’t care for what people say, do your work with dedication.
5.Trust yourself and God.
Add Comment