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Thursday 19 October 2017

Under the Kalpavruksha

The Kalpavruksha is a mythical wish-granting tree. Under that tree all your wishes are fulfilled. Everyone wishes for a Kalpavruksha. It would make them succesful. It would make them rich. It would make them happy. Not necessary to all the three. The Kalpavruksha, you see, comes with a catch. Haven’t you heard about the Man who found the Kalpavruksha?

The wsih-granting tree
Image Courtesy: Pixabay

The Man who found the Kalpavruksha


*An old friend (read eight year old) told me this story when I was four and a half. For years later I was worried that I might accidentally stumble upon a Kalpavruksha. I have no idea who is the original author of the story. I’m going to stick to her original narration in my retelling.

The story


Kalpavruksha is a tree that fulfills wishes. It looks like any other tree, so it’s difficult to spot it. One day, a man was returning home after a visit to the neighbouring town. He had to cross an area of wilderness. The sun was blazing that day. The weary man decided to rest under a tree for a while.
The cool shade made him feel a little better; he started thinking.
This tree has such big branches, I can’t even feel the heat. If only the tree could give me something to eat.
As soon as he thought the words, all sorts of different fruits appeared before him. The man was surprised, but hunger overruled his curiosity. He chose the fruits which he liked, and ate them. After eating his fill, he was thirsty.
He thought, would the tree give him water too? It did.
Now, that his hunger and thirst were satisfied, the man’s thoughts took a different turn. Had he stumbled upon a Kalpavruksha? Wow, that would be great. He would have everything he wanted. He should try asking for something. He was about to just that, when a sinister thought entered his head.
What if it was some ghost playing a trick on him? The ghost might appear right in front of him anytime now.
Lo and behold, the ghost appeared.
The man was terrified. He couldn’t think of anything except that the ghost might eat him.
And that was the end of the poor man.

The catch


Having a Kalpavruksha comes with a great risk. It cannot differentiate between positive and negative. Whatever you wish you get. One negative thought, and you are done.

Life is a lot like Kalpavruksha. It tries to fulfill your wishes to the best of its capacity. Optimism grants you happiness, while pessimism the reverse. Most of our life, we let the negative thoughts cloud our positivity. Result—the wrong wishes are fulfilled. And we go through life dreaming of a Kalpavruksha without realising we already have it.

Think positive. Let life help you realise all your dreams.

Image Source: Dan Fador at Pixabay
Image is CC0 Creative Commons

What do you think about life, and Kalpavruksha? Do share your views.

8 comments:

  1. Great story with a wonderful message.
    Let's be positive all the while.
    Happy Diwali, Kiran! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, let's be positive all the time. Thanks Anita. Happy Diwali :)

      Delete
  2. Wonderful story! The Law of Attraction concept is nothing but this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very nice story with a great message , liked it a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Super story! The moral of the story is an eye opener. Sometimes we think the stories are silly. But, once carefully studied, they reveal great thoughts for life! Thanks for sharing, Kiran :-)

    ReplyDelete

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