Skip to content

Stories

How can I Help

At the next station, the doors opened and suddenly our quiet day was shattered by a man bellowing violent curses. He staggered into our car.  He was big, drunk, and dirty. Yelling, he swung at the woman holding a baby. The blow sent her spinning into the laps of an elderly couple.

Shiva’s Birthday

When Anandamurti was four years old, his family, as they did every year, celebrated Shiva’s birthday. On the evening of Shivarati, the family made a small pilgrimage, climbing the stone steps to the top of Kalipahar to pray at the Shiva temple.

The 100th Monkey

Long ago on the island of Koshima, the village children started feeding the monkeys sweet potatoes by leaving the potatoes in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they did not like the sand.  On this particular day a one-year-old monkey called Imo and her monkey friends were playing on the beach together. Imo’s mother had taught Imo about… Read More »The 100th Monkey

Baba and the 5 Charging Bulls

A Story in the Life of P. R. Sarkar Once upon a time Prabhat had a childhood friend who was quite a bit younger than he was. Manoranjan often saw Prabhat sitting for hours, meditating with his eyes closed in the outdoor Shiva Temple.  This impressed Manoranjan very much. Manoranjan was walking home from school one day when a group of 5 bulls started chasing… Read More »Baba and the 5 Charging Bulls

Stories from the Life of of P. R. Sarkar/Anandamurti

The Whistling Bird Stories of Prabhat’s unusual ways spread through his school. Many of children were very curious about him.  Odd stories about young Prabhat were whispered. Whispered tales circulated—some said Prabhat could understand the songs of birds. Others swore they had seen him talking with animals. One afternoon, Prabhat was sitting under a large tree with his friends when a heated argument broke out… Read More »Stories from the Life of of P. R. Sarkar/Anandamurti

The Guest House

By Jalaluddin Rumi This being human is a guest house.Every morning a new arrival.A joy, a depression, a meanness,  Some momentary awareness comesAs an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all!Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,Who violently sweep your houseEmpty of its furniture.Still treat each guest honorablyThey may be clearing you outFor some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice,Meet them… Read More »The Guest House

The Golden Buddha

Once upon a time in the 1950’s a group of monks from a monastery had to relocate a Buddha statue made of clay from their temple to a new location.

The Tale of the Two Wolves

A grandfather was talking with his grandson, and he told him of the two wolves that live inside each one of us. They are always at war with each other. One is a good wolf who is kind brave, and loving. The other is a bad wolf who is greedy, mean, and fearful. The grandson thinks of what his grandfather has spoken and then he… Read More »The Tale of the Two Wolves

Ya Never Know

Long ago there lived a farmer and his son. The boy worked hard on his father’s farm and one day he happened to capture a strong, beautiful wild horse. All the neighbors told the farmer how fortunate he was. The farmer replied, “Ya never know.” He looked at the distant mountain and he smiled. The boy spent his days tending to the farm and the… Read More »Ya Never Know

The Starfish

One day a woman was walking along a beach.  The entire beach was littered with hundreds of starfish who had been washed up by the tides because of a fearsome storm that had happened the night before.  Every time she came to a starfish, she picked it up, and threw it back into the ocean. After a while, her friend who had been watching and… Read More »The Starfish

Spiritual stories for adults

The Hummingbird & the Elephant Once upon a time, an elephant was walking down a road in a great jungle in south-eastern China when, suddenly, he saw a tiny hummingbird in the middle of the road. The bright little bird was motionless, belly up, with her tiny legs stretched toward the sky. She was so little that the elephant had almost stepped on her.          ‘Is… Read More »Spiritual stories for adults