Freedom

Once upon a time, a Persian merchant was gifted a beautiful parrot by his Indian business partners. The merchant kept the parrot in a comfortable and large cage. Merchant used to enjoy the beautiful songs that parrot used to sing for him in her beautiful voice. The Merchant loved the bird deeply and asked her to entertain his friends frequently.

The merchant used to go to India once a year for meeting his business partners. Before he left, everyone in his house used to tell him what gifts to bring from India. After asking his family members, the Merchant asked the parrot, “tell me, O Parrot, what do you want?”. The parrot replied, “Master, when in India, if you come across a group of parrots, please say my Namaste and tell them of my plight here in Persia. I am sitting in a cage, trapped and yearning for freedom. Please ask my cousins for their advice on how I should handle my situation.”

The merchant heard the parrot’s request and promised to convey it to her cousins in India. After finishing his business in India, his thought went to the parrot’s request. While travelling, he came across a group of parrots chirping noisily in a forest. He got down from his horse and delivered his parrot’s message to the group. As he was conveying the message, he saw a parrot started shaking vigorously and fell down from the branch of the tree she was sitting on and drop dead. Merchant tried to protect the dying parrot but was unsuccessful. The little bird looked as if life had left her body.

He merchant was distraught seeing this scene and felt guilty of causing the death of this parrot. He thought that this parrot might be related to his parrot back home and had probably died of grief after hearing about her cousins plight back home in Persia. He regretted carrying the message from his parrot. He realized that human tongue could spark off a fire. The damage was already done. He finished his duties in India and went back to Persia.

When he went back, he found his parrot was eagerly awaiting for the response to her question. She said, “ Tell me master, what reply did my cousins in India have to my question?”

Merchant, already sad after seeing what he had seen in India, replied that he forgot what the parrots had said. But his parrot insisted, “ Master, please tell me what happened.” Merchant replied, “ I told your situation to a group of parrots in India. But before I could even finish, one parrot started shaking, fell from the tree and died instantly. I feel guilty of causing that bird’s death. But once the words have left the mouth, they can never be reversed just like an arrow which has left the bow can never return.”

As the merchant was speaking, his parrot, fell from the perch in the cage and fell to the floor and died instantly. Merchant was grief stricken, he cursed himself and blamed himself for causing another death. The parrot lied motionless on the heap of leaves on the floor of the cage.

The grieving merchant opened the cage door and picked the bird. He took the parrot to his garden where he dug a whole to bury the bird. Just as he was doing it, the parrot shot up to the nearest tree and started chirping happily.

Merchant was thrilled to see the bird alive and said, “ O Parrot, I am super happy to see you healthy. But tell me your secret now that you are free.” The parrot replied, “ That parrot in India taught me how to buy my freedom. Without actually saying anything, that parrot taught me that I was in a cage because of my skill of singing beautifully and entertaining everyone. My good voice was the cause of my imprisonment. By his actions, that parrot taught me that my freedom was in dying/giving up my talents which I valued so dearly.”

The parrot bid her master goodbye and quickly flew out.

THE END

Learnings 1: Our desire for wealth and praise are the creators of bondage. The parrot may be living in the golden cage stud with Diamonds, but after all, it is the cage only. One should be aware of his bondage. The parrot became aware of his predicament. The story gives all of us a reason to pause for a moment in our busy lives and see what is our "golden cage”.

2: Like the parrot, we should not hesitate to ask for help. Many of us keep the problems hidden with in ourselves and do not open up. It's fine to show our vulnerability and seek help outside when we feel confined in our mental blocks. Pause and think: What are the problems that are we struggling with? 3: A Great teacher teaches us through examples. They lead their life as per the teachings they place before us. Their life is worth emulating. And that's how the parrot was taught the method of his freedom. The Indian parrot didn't send a message verbally, but conveyed it in his act. Let us all analyse how we have got messages from wise men by reading their life stories and how we can learn from it 4: To decipher the message of the great ones, we require to apply our brains. The great teachers have worked and spoken in riddles. With the application of intellect, one can separate grains from the chaff. Why do the great ones speak in the riddles? So that the message reaches the deserving ones only. The merchant could not decipher the message and had he known the message, he would have not delivered it.

5: What is bondage? Not being in our natural state is bondage. Remaining in the cage when we are born to fly is bondage. It is easy for all of us to see other’s bondage, like we can see for the parrot. But, for ourselves, we need to dive within. Although we may be moving freely and we are not confined to some kind of Jail or barriers, it is our thoughts which create an imaginary jail for us and stop the flight of our soul. We should be aware of these binding thoughts and try to free ourselves from the shackles of these thoughts so that our soul can fly. What is our natural state of being? Whenever we act against our inherent nature, those acts feel like a burden and when something flows to us naturally, it makes us feel elevated. Self analysis will make us aware of our bondages.

6: Although the parrot in India was not the cousin of the parrot in Persia, he chose to help his fellow parrot. Humans should help fellow humans wherever they can. We may not know what difference a small help can make in others' lives!

7: We should always stay humble and do not seek outside appreciation and praise. Otherwise, we will create a prison of our own. Just like the sweet speaking parrot, who has created a cage for himself. We may have a great talent but if we just use it to garner praise and wealth, it may create a bondage for us. Our talent becomes our jail. So let us be AWARE.

STORY CREDIT: This story has its source in the six volumes of Masnavi by Jalalu'din Rumi, translated by Maryam Mafi