A Courageous Free Bird

There lived a few birds in a cage.

Day after day, they followed the same routine.

Chirping at sunrise, seeds for food, singing at noon, silence at night.

One morning, a young bird found the door unlatched.

With a heartbeat full of courage, it stepped outside and rose into the open sky. 

From below, the other birds shouted: 

"You fool! Where are you going? 

Out there is an endless sky—you will get lost! 

You won’t even find your way back, and you will starve to death."

But the young bird smiled. "How would I know if I never tried? 

How will I learn what lies beyond?

How can you be lost when you have never truly found yourself?”

Some birds turned away, clinging even tighter to the cage bars.

Others watched in awe, their eyes silently following the bird as it vanished into the vast sky, and for the first time, the cage felt smaller to them. 

This image of caged birds criticizing a brave bird who chooses to fly freely is a powerful metaphor for how society treats those who dare to challenge the status quo. 

They start calling them rebels.

The caged birds symbolize the fear and conformity of those who choose to remain within the safety of familiar boundaries. 

In contrast, the free bird represents the courage to break away from imposed norms. 

The caged birds mock the rebel who dares to spread his wings toward the open sky.

Their voices are born of fear—the fear of winds they have never felt, of horizons they have never seen. 

There is safety behind the bars, a set routine, and the comfort of knowing exactly where the walls are. 

They know the limits and walls that confine them, and they cannot cross them.

Over time, they grow accustomed to living within those boundaries and begin to mistake that confinement for comfort and happiness. 

On the other hand, beyond the cage lies the unknown—vast, unmeasured, untamed. 

And everyone fears the unknown and the uncertain.

Sometimes, some people courageously choose uncertainty over the certainty of captivity within boundaries created by others.

However, most people criticize such courageous individuals who dare to question the rules and restrictions. They label them as rebels. 

The truth is, there is a fear in their own mind. 

Because those doubts and questions are also hidden somewhere in their own mind, but they lack the courage to voice them or question the status quo. 

They simply cannot imagine life outside the boundaries that have been created for them. 

To preserve their fragile sense of safety and comfort, they mock and condemn those who question and attempt to break free.

Why do we fear rebels —and criticize the ones who dare to question the rules? 

Perhaps because they reveal possibilities we have not dared to imagine — possibilities that lead to growth and true freedom.

This image poses a thought-provoking question: 

Is it better to remain in the comfort of our cage, or to follow our own path toward genuine and true liberation? 

As Lord Krishna says, "Regardless of whether a cage is made of iron or gold, a cage is still a cage. 

He encourages us to break all kinds of bondages and strive for Moksha or true liberation.

                                       " Rajan Sachdeva"

                               (Inspired by an online post)