One evening, a traveler arrived at a hill resort. The sun was about to set - the mountains were ready to hide in darkness. The birds had returned to their nests. As soon as he reached the inn, he heard a loud, wailing voice. He did not know who was screaming.
All the surrounding mountains were echoing with someone’s loud voice, shouting - freedom, freedom, freedom!
As the guest approached the hill resort, he could not stop thinking where those voices were coming from? Who was so thirsty for freedom? Who wants to break the bonds of confinement? Which soul is crying out for help?
And when he reached the inn and asked about the source of these screams, he was told that it was a parrot - hanging in a cage at the entrance of the inn - who was crying for freedom.
Since the guest had also wandered in search of freedom for most of his life, his heart was touched by the parrot's cryings.
Later that night, when he lay in his bed, he thought, “I should open the parrot’s cage so it can be set free.
The guest got up and made sure that the owner of the inn had fallen asleep. The parrot was also sleeping in the cage. As he opened the door to the cage, the parrot woke up, he grabbed the metal bars of the cage and started shouting - freedom, freedom, freedom.
That guest was astonished as the door was now open and the parrot could fly, but the bird kept holding on to the bars of the cage. Instead of flying away, he looked frightened to see the door open! The guest put his arm inside the cage and pulled the parrot out forcibly. The parrot even bit the guest on his arm in all this commotion while he tried to pull the bird out. Finally, the guest was successful in releasing the parrot from its cage.
For the rest of the night, the guest slept peacefully and contently, knowing that he had given freedom to a soul. Someone was finally free. He had played a significant part in answering someone's prayer. But when he woke up in the morning, he heard the same agonizing voice - the parrot was still around and was screaming - freedom, freedom.
He came out of his room and was astonished to see the parrot sitting in his cage. The cage door was open, yet the parrot was screaming - Mukti, Mukti - Freedom, Freedom. He went to the owner of the inn and said: last night I had set the bird free. Why has he returned to his cage and continuing to scream for freedom?
The owner of the inn smiled and said– “You also got duped!”.
He said that many guests have also made the same mistake. What this parrot is shouting is neither his longing nor his prayer. These are mere words taught to him. This parrot keeps coming back to the cage because he does not seek freedom. He is merely repeating the words that I have taught him. The same pattern repeats every night. Some guest or the other shows mercy and frees the parrot. And the next morning, the parrot returns to its cage.
Upon hearing this story, I began to wonder, isn’t the situation of most of us same as this parrot?
Don’t we all keep looking for similar things all of our lives?
We too keep repeating the words like I want Mukti - I want salvation - I want freedom - I seek the truth.
Even though we keep demanding these things, yet we keep holding on to the bars of the self-made cage - made of our worldly bonds. We pray for salvation, and yet we keep on worshipping those bonds of attachments which are the cages - the prisons.
Sometimes, we leave one cage and enter into another one. Eventually, that new cage becomes our new prison, and we continue to live in this illusion. Liberation is not something that can be taught. It should be the voice of our soul.
So many people talk about wanting to be free, attaining salvation, getting close to the Lord. But no one seems to be looking in the right direction for this freedom, to achieve this salvation. Like the parrot, every day we see people are sitting in their proverbial cages, locked in their self-made prisons. And yet they continue to have this same aspiration - praying and asking for Mukti - Salvation - Freedom.
Such is the story of most of the people - who demand freedom in vain. These are just the words that we have learned. These words have been taught to us for thousands of years in the scriptures, and we keep on repeating them.
So, the question is; do we actually want the Mukti - the freedom or salvation?
Remember: if we are unable to liberate our consciousness, we cannot be happy. There is no happiness without freedom.
All the surrounding mountains were echoing with someone’s loud voice, shouting - freedom, freedom, freedom!
As the guest approached the hill resort, he could not stop thinking where those voices were coming from? Who was so thirsty for freedom? Who wants to break the bonds of confinement? Which soul is crying out for help?
And when he reached the inn and asked about the source of these screams, he was told that it was a parrot - hanging in a cage at the entrance of the inn - who was crying for freedom.
Since the guest had also wandered in search of freedom for most of his life, his heart was touched by the parrot's cryings.
Later that night, when he lay in his bed, he thought, “I should open the parrot’s cage so it can be set free.
The guest got up and made sure that the owner of the inn had fallen asleep. The parrot was also sleeping in the cage. As he opened the door to the cage, the parrot woke up, he grabbed the metal bars of the cage and started shouting - freedom, freedom, freedom.
That guest was astonished as the door was now open and the parrot could fly, but the bird kept holding on to the bars of the cage. Instead of flying away, he looked frightened to see the door open! The guest put his arm inside the cage and pulled the parrot out forcibly. The parrot even bit the guest on his arm in all this commotion while he tried to pull the bird out. Finally, the guest was successful in releasing the parrot from its cage.
For the rest of the night, the guest slept peacefully and contently, knowing that he had given freedom to a soul. Someone was finally free. He had played a significant part in answering someone's prayer. But when he woke up in the morning, he heard the same agonizing voice - the parrot was still around and was screaming - freedom, freedom.
He came out of his room and was astonished to see the parrot sitting in his cage. The cage door was open, yet the parrot was screaming - Mukti, Mukti - Freedom, Freedom. He went to the owner of the inn and said: last night I had set the bird free. Why has he returned to his cage and continuing to scream for freedom?
The owner of the inn smiled and said– “You also got duped!”.
He said that many guests have also made the same mistake. What this parrot is shouting is neither his longing nor his prayer. These are mere words taught to him. This parrot keeps coming back to the cage because he does not seek freedom. He is merely repeating the words that I have taught him. The same pattern repeats every night. Some guest or the other shows mercy and frees the parrot. And the next morning, the parrot returns to its cage.
Upon hearing this story, I began to wonder, isn’t the situation of most of us same as this parrot?
Don’t we all keep looking for similar things all of our lives?
We too keep repeating the words like I want Mukti - I want salvation - I want freedom - I seek the truth.
Even though we keep demanding these things, yet we keep holding on to the bars of the self-made cage - made of our worldly bonds. We pray for salvation, and yet we keep on worshipping those bonds of attachments which are the cages - the prisons.
Sometimes, we leave one cage and enter into another one. Eventually, that new cage becomes our new prison, and we continue to live in this illusion. Liberation is not something that can be taught. It should be the voice of our soul.
So many people talk about wanting to be free, attaining salvation, getting close to the Lord. But no one seems to be looking in the right direction for this freedom, to achieve this salvation. Like the parrot, every day we see people are sitting in their proverbial cages, locked in their self-made prisons. And yet they continue to have this same aspiration - praying and asking for Mukti - Salvation - Freedom.
Such is the story of most of the people - who demand freedom in vain. These are just the words that we have learned. These words have been taught to us for thousands of years in the scriptures, and we keep on repeating them.
So, the question is; do we actually want the Mukti - the freedom or salvation?
Remember: if we are unable to liberate our consciousness, we cannot be happy. There is no happiness without freedom.
'Rajan Sachdeva'
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