In one of His extremely beautiful Satsangs, Hazir Swaroop Sai Sadhram Saheb narrated a very inspiring story.
Sai Jan explained that there was a temple. One day, the sevadaris who served at the temple discussed among themselves, “Why not have a beautiful idol of Bal Krishna made by a skilled and renowned sculptor?” They invited a very famous sculptor from that area and requested him to create a beautiful idol of Bal Krishna for them.
The sculptor said that in order to create an idol of Bal Krishna, he would need to have a child before him who looked exactly like Bal Krishna. The temple sevadaris brought several children before the sculptor, but he did not find any of them suitable.
Then, one day, they came across a child whose face reflected such an extraordinary and divine radiance that it appeared to the sculptor like the very image of Bal Krishna Bhagwan. The moment the sculptor saw that child, he experienced a profound sense of joy within his heart. He felt that this was the very child whose appearance could inspire him to bring the divine form of Bal Krishna to life.
The sculptor placed the child before him and, gazing at him again and again, created such a beautiful idol of Bal Krishna that its fame spread far and wide. The idol of Bal Krishna was extraordinarily enchanting, pure, ethereal, and divine. People everywhere began speaking of the beauty and divinity of the idol.
Many years passed. The fame of the temple spread far and wide. People began arriving at the temple from distant places, and after having darshan of the beautiful idol of Bal Krishna, they would admire and praise its divine beauty.
One day, many years later, the temple sevadaris discussed among themselves, “If Kansa had not existed, the world might never have witnessed the divine form of Shri Krishna. In order to liberate the world from Kansa’s tyranny and oppression, Lord Shri Krishna manifested His divine power before everyone, and people came to love and revere Shri Krishna for His divine power and His divine leelas.”
They then thought, “Why not have an idol of Kansa made as well, so that future generations may know how Lord Shri Krishna brought an end to Kansa, whose nature was demonic?”
All the sevadaris once again called the same sculptor who, many years earlier, had created that extraordinary idol of Bal Krishna. This time, they requested him to make an idol of Kansa.
The sculptor had now grown very old, but he was still renowned for his extraordinary skill and artistry in creating idols.
The sculptor said that he could certainly make an idol of Kansa, but just as the temple sevadaris had brought a child before him when he was creating the idol of Bal Krishna—a child whose very appearance reflected the divine image of Shri Krishna—similarly, to create the idol of Kansa, they would have to bring before him a person whose face and personality reflected the sinful and demonic nature of Kansa.
The temple sevadaris began searching for a person who resembled Kansa. Several people were brought before the sculptor, but he did not find any of them suitable. In none of them could he see the kind of appearance and personality that would inspire him to create the idol of Kansa.
Then the temple sevadaris went to the local prison. They explained the entire matter to the prison authorities and requested them to tell them about a prisoner who was a great sinner and had been given the harshest possible punishment for his crimes.
The prison authorities told them about a man who was a very dangerous and hardened criminal. All the temple sevadaris took the prisoner to the sculptor. The moment the sculptor saw the criminal, he agreed to make the idol of Kansa. He understood that it would be difficult to find anyone who looked more dangerous and terrifying than this man.
The sculptor began creating the idol of Kansa. When the idol was completed, everyone was astonished upon seeing it. The figure portrayed in the idol looked so frightening and terrifying that anyone who saw it found the idol truly fearsome and formidable. Everyone began praising the sculptor for his extraordinary artistic skill. The idol of Kansa became a subject of discussion and admiration everywhere.
Hearing about the fame of the idols of Bal Krishna and Kansa, people began coming to the temple from far and wide to see them. When the prisoner, whose appearance had inspired the sculptor to create the idol of Kansa, heard so much praise about the idol, he too developed a desire to go and see it.
He pleaded with the police authorities, and they granted him permission. He was taken to the temple.
When the prisoner saw the idol of Kansa, he too was astonished. He saw how remarkably the sculptor had created the idol of Kansa, bearing a striking resemblance to his own face and appearance. After that, he went to see the idol of Bal Krishna, which had been created by placing a child before the sculptor as his model.
After looking at the idol of Bal Krishna, he turned once again towards the idol of Kansa. Tears began to stream down his eyes, and he started weeping bitterly.
Everyone was astonished to see him crying. They asked him why he was weeping.
The prisoner said that he was crying over his own fate. He said that as a child, he too had been as innocent and lovable as Bal Krishna. But today, he had become such a person that the idol of Kansa had been created by looking at his face and personality.
He explained that the idol of Bal Krishna, which had become so famous that people came from distant places to have its darshan, had also been created by looking at him in his childhood, when he was just a small and innocent child.
The thought filled him with deep regret. He was heartbroken when he realized how innocent he had been as a child and how terribly he had changed as he grew into an adult.
Hazir Swaroop Sai Sadhram Saheb explained that human life is also somewhat like this. Every child is as innocent and pure as Bal Krishna. But if a child is brought up in the wrong manner, he or she may grow into a bad person. On the other hand, if a child is raised with spiritual values, good संस्कार, and noble principles, that child can grow into an exemplary and virtuous human being.
The upbringing of a child holds immense importance in life. Just as wet clay can be shaped into whatever form we desire, it takes that very shape. But once the same clay has been fired and hardened, changing its shape becomes extremely difficult.
Therefore, just as shaping wet clay into the right form rests in the hands of the potter, the responsibility of giving the right upbringing to a child rests in the hands of the parents.
Hazir Swaroop Sai Sadhram Saheb explained that this is why parents should raise their children with great responsibility, care, and vigilance.
