A mouse was in constant distress because of its fear of the cat. A saint took pity on it and turned it into a cat. But then it became afraid of the dog.

So the saint turned it into a dog. Then it began to fear the panther, so the saint turned it into a panther. Then it became full of fear for the hunter.

At this point, the saint gave up. He turned it into a mouse again saying, “Nothing I do for you is going to be of any help because you have the heart of a mouse.”

Teachings:

Cosmetic changes don’t bring inner transformation and without inner transformation, there can be no real change in oneself. Make-up can break-up. Similarly, cosmetic changes without the inner transformation crumble when one faces real challenges of life, both, in worldly matters as well as in the spiritual field. A person with a strong physique but a weak mind can be defeated by another who may not have as strong a physique, but may have a very strong mind.

We carry certain mindset, certain mental blocks, or attitude or thinking from the past. These, we may have slowly accumulated over the years through our own past experiences, or events we may have witnessed, or the impressions or tendencies we have gathered over the years, or our own distorted thinking, which eventually become obstacles in our progress, development and well being. Many of us become so rigid with our mindset and attitude that we find it very difficult to break free from its stranglehold on us. Many people’s minds are like concrete – thoroughly mixed-up and set. They simply refuse to change.

For example, when a safe and perfect cure is available for an ailment, we may refuse to take it, because we may have developed a mental block against it. Either we may not like the

smell or the taste or sometime even the look of the medicine! It may be from an alternative medical system in which we may not have faith or we may not have faith in the person who is prescribing the cure. Due to these mental blocks we will continue to suffer from that ailment.

The kind of thinking and attitude that worked for us in the past need not necessarily work in the changed circumstances. Everything changes in the entire existence except the law of change. We also need to change our mindset, thinking and attitude and get rid of any mental blocks that we may be carrying from our past, to adapt to the fast changing environment.

Minds, like parachutes, function only when open. We must have an open mind to new ideas and concepts.

It is a must for our progress, development and well being, whether it is material pursuits or spiritual pursuits.