Dhruva Becomes the Pole Star

Dadi: "Guddu, remember Dhruva? Let me tell you how his story ended - or rather, how it became eternal."

Guddu: "He became the Pole Star, right?"

Dadi: "Yes! After meeting Lord Vishnu in the forest, Dhruva returned home. His stepmother Suruchi, who had been so cruel, actually apologized. His father welcomed him with tears."

Guddu: "That must have felt good!"

Dadi: "It did. But here's what's remarkable - Dhruva forgave everyone. He didn't seek revenge. He ruled as king for 36,000 years!"

Guddu: "That's longer than all of human history!"

Dadi: "In those ancient times, lifespans were much longer. Dhruva was a model king - just, compassionate, balanced. He cared for material duties while keeping his heart fixed on God."

Guddu: "What happened when he was ready to leave?"

Dadi: "In his final years, Dhruva retired to the Himalayas. He began deep meditation again, concentrating on Lord Vishnu with the same intensity he had shown as a child."

His devotion became so overwhelming that tears flowed constantly. His heart, the scriptures say, "melted completely."

Guddu: "Like he was dissolving?"

Dadi: "His attachment to the physical world was dissolving. And then - a celestial airplane descended from the sky."

Guddu: "A divine spacecraft?"

Dadi: "*smiles* Something like that. Two of Vishnu's chief attendants stepped out. They said: "O immortal one, you have conquered a realm even the greatest gods cannot reach. Come, we will take you there.""

Guddu: "What did Dhruva do?"

Dadi: "He prepared to board. But then he stopped. He remembered his mother Suniti - the gentle woman who had first told him to pray to Vishnu, who had cried when he left for the forest."

"What about my mother?" he asked.

Guddu: "Oh! He was worried about her!"

Dadi: "But the divine attendants smiled and pointed upward. "Look.""

In another celestial vehicle, Suniti was already ascending to the spiritual realm! Her faith in her son and her own devotion had earned her the same destination.

Guddu: "They went together!"

Dadi: "Side by side, mother and son rose beyond the earthly realm, beyond the gods, beyond the stars themselves."

Dhruva was established at Dhruvaloka - the Pole Star. All the other stars, all the planets, all the celestial bodies - they all revolve around him.

Guddu: "Like he's the center of the visible universe?"

Dadi: "Exactly. The Bhagavatam says that even the seven great sages - what we call the Big Dipper - perpetually circle around Dhruva, paying their respects."

Guddu: "So when I look at the Pole Star, I'm looking at Dhruva?"

Dadi: "That's what our tradition teaches. A five-year-old who was pushed away from his father's lap now sits at a position so exalted that all celestial beings revolve around him."

Guddu: "And he earned it through meditation?"

Dadi: "Through determination, devotion, and focus. Anyone who hears Dhruva's story with faith receives blessings - wealth, reputation, long life, and eventually, the same liberation Dhruva achieved."

Guddu: "Can we go look at the Pole Star tonight?"

Dadi: "We absolutely will. Find the Big Dipper, follow the pointer stars upward. That first bright star - that's Dhruva. Still there after millions of years."

Guddu: "A child's meditation, visible every night."

Dadi: "Forever fixed while everything else moves. That's the power of a focused mind, beta."