The Gift of Mirror

Once there lived a family of a husband and a wife in village. One day, a tourist came to their village. After visiting various places, he was very tired. He knocked at the door of the family. Both welcomed the tourist very nicely and allowed them to stay in their home till the time he was in the village. The tourist felt extremely thankful to the family for their kind behavior. He stayed in their house for three days. On the fourth day's early morning, he decided to move to new places. However, the couple was sleeping. So, he left without disturbing anyone. Before leaving, he left a note saying thank you to the family and a gift of mirror.

Nobody in that village had ever seen a mirror, before in their life. After the couple woke up, they started searching for the tourist. While searching, they found the note written by the tourist thanking everyone for their kind treatment. The woman of the family saw that there was something wrapped in the paper in the guestroom. When she opened it, she saw mirror. Since she had never seen mirror before, she felt somewhat confused and amazed to see her own image. Then doubts started coming in her mind, 'Who is this beautiful woman? Is my husband having affair with her? Oh... it must be true, that's the reason he is behaving awkwardly with me lately. Now, he is also not loving me like he used to do earlier.' She became very sad and left the room.

After sometime, the husband of the woman entered the room. He also saw the mirror and looked into it. He also saw his own image. Now doubts started coming to his mind, 'Such a handsome man!!! I never saw such an attractive and dashing man ever. Who is he? Is my wife having affair with him?' He became sad and angry. Now, the situation inside their home became worse. The husband was doubting wife and vice versa. Ultimately, on one day, both of them started arguing with each other. Nobody was ready to listen and were blaming each other on their loose character.

One priest was passing nearby. He heard the shouts of the couple. He entered the home and asked, "What is the matter? Why are you shouting?" The husband and wife told him about their doubts and again started arguing. The priest took the mirror and looked inside. He saw his own image. He thought, 'Who is this divine being? OH..... today, I got darshan (divine view) of my God inside this thing. This is a divine tool. This should belong to me. I will admire God by seeing inside this amazing tool.' Now, priest also entered into the quarrel of getting ownership of the mirror.

One knowledgeable person was also passing nearby. He heard shouting people from inside the home. He entered and asked, "Why are you people fighting?" The priest told that he saw his God inside the divine tool and it should belong to him. The husband said that he saw some handsome and well-built man inside the tool and he had doubts that his wife had affair with him. The wife also said that she saw a very beautiful woman inside and she believed that her husband was cheating on her. The man took the mirror and said, "This is a mirror. O Man, the handsome and well built man whom you have seen inside is none other but you. O Lady, the beautiful woman inside this tool is your own reflection. O Priest, the image which you are thinking is of God is actually your own image reflected by the mirror. The mirror is simply reflecting the image of the person. Know the truth, you are unnecessarily fighting among yourselves. The way the mirror of self knowledge reflects the image of your own soul and you experience its presence within, this mirror only reflects the image of any object that is kept in front of it. If you will realize the truth, there would be no need to fight."