Stories for when you feel Feeling Restless

Vidura counseled Dhritarashtra through 500 shlokas of wisdom about leadership, ethics, and self-control before the great war.

Five-year-old prince Dhruva, humiliated by his stepmother, performed intense austerities guided by sage Narada. His meditation with the mantra 'Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya' was so powerful that Vishnu appeared and granted him an eternal position as the Pole Star.

Prajapati teaches the same syllable 'Da' to gods, humans, and demons. Each interprets according to their nature: gods hear 'Damyata' (self-control), humans hear 'Datta' (charity), demons hear 'Dayadhvam' (compassion). Wisdom is tailored to the listener's disposition.

At King Janaka's philosophical debate, Yajnavalkya defeats all challengers including Gargi. He explains consciousness as the unchanging witness of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states. When external lights are absent, 'the Self indeed is his light' - culminating in non-dual vision.

Despite mastering all sciences, sage Narada lacks inner peace. Sanatkumara guides him through 15 progressive stages - from Name through Speech, Mind, to Space and beyond - culminating in Bhuma (the Infinite). Happiness exists only in the Infinite, not in finite things.

Kacha becomes disciple of demon guru Shukracharya to learn the Sanjivani mantra. Devayani falls for him but he refuses her love to protect the sacred knowledge, choosing duty over desire.

King Nala, possessed by demon Kali, loses everything through gambling and abandons his devoted wife Damayanti. Through suffering and self-improvement, he overcomes his weaknesses, learns new skills, and eventually reunites with his family.

Bhai Sati Das, younger brother of Bhai Mati Das, was wrapped in cotton wool soaked in oil, tied to a pole, and set on fire in direct sight of Guru Tegh Bahadur. He remained calm and peaceful, continuously uttering Waheguru while the fire consumed his body.

A talkative tortoise asks geese friends to carry him by stick during a drought, warned to keep his mouth shut. When villagers mock the sight, he opens his mouth to respond and falls to his death. Self-control saves lives.

The story of Sohong Swami, a saint who fought tigers with his bare hands using the power of mind over muscle. After defeating a fierce tiger named Raja Begum in a public exhibition, he underwent a spiritual transformation and renounced his worldly pursuits.

Sri Yukteswar grants Yogananda the long-sought experience of cosmic consciousness by striking gently on his chest. His soul streams out like fluid light, embracing the circumambient atoms, perceiving all of creation as one.

Bhrigu asks his father Varuna to teach him Brahman. Through repeated meditation, Bhrigu progressively discovers five sheaths: Food, Life Force, Mind, Intellect, and finally Bliss. Each time he thinks he found Brahman, Varuna sends him back until he realizes Ananda (Bliss) as ultimate reality.

Obsessed with his wife, Tulsidas crossed a river on a corpse and climbed a snake to reach her. She chided: Direct half this devotion to God and attain liberation. He instantly transformed and composed Ramcharitmanas.

Five-year-old Dhruva, humiliated by his stepmother and ignored by his father, enters the forest to find Vishnu through meditation. His six-month tapas is so intense that Vishnu appears. Transformed by the vision, Dhruva asks only to always remember God—and becomes the Pole Star, eternally fixed.

Shiva's eternal meditation on Mount Kailash represents the deepest dhyana yoga teaching: pure consciousness, witnessing all without being touched. When desire-god Kamadeva tries to disturb him, he's burned by Shiva's third eye—showing that awareness itself dissolves attachment.

Sage Patanjali systematized meditation in 196 sutras, defining yoga as 'cessation of mental fluctuations.' His eight-limbed path—from ethics through posture, breath, and concentration to absorption—provides a complete technology of consciousness still practiced worldwide after twenty-two centuries.

A professor's cup overflows as a Zen master pours tea during his endless talking—the master's point: a mind full of opinions cannot receive teaching. True meditation isn't adding more knowledge but emptying, not through force but by seeing that awareness itself was never filled.

Murderer Angulimala, wearing a necklace of victims' fingers, tries to kill the Buddha but cannot catch him. The Buddha's calm presence transforms him into a monk. Despite being beaten by villagers, Angulimala becomes so gentle that his blessing heals a difficult childbirth. No one is beyond redemption.

When asked what he saw while aiming, only Arjuna said he saw only the blackness of the birds eye. His single-minded focus made him the greatest archer.

Milarepa killed thirty-five people through sorcery before seeking redemption. His teacher Marpa purified him through years of harsh labor before teaching meditation. Retreating to caves, eating only nettles, Milarepa achieved complete realization—proving that no karma is beyond transformation through persistent practice.