The Story of Two Leaves


Once upon a time, there was a Peepal tree on the banks of the Ganga river.
The river was flowing fiercely from the mountains when two leaves from the tree fell into the river.

One leaf *fell sideways, and the other fell *upright.
The sideways leaf got stuck and began shouting:
“Today, no matter what, I will stop this river from flowing! Even if I lose my life, I won’t let it move forward!”

He screamed louder,
“Stop, Ganga! You will not go any further. I will stop you right here!”

But the river kept flowing—
It didn’t even know a leaf was trying to stop it.
Yet the leaf kept struggling, unaware that with or without a fight, it would end up in the same place.
But between now and then, it would suffer deeply in pain and exhaustion.

The other leaf, which fell upright, flowed joyfully with the current,
Saying,
“Let’s go, Ganga! I will help you reach your destination.
No matter what, I will make sure nothing stands in your way. I will take you to the ocean!”

Again, the river didn’t know anything about this leaf either.
It kept flowing towards the sea on its own.
But this second leaf was *joyful, believing that *it was the one carrying the river along!

Just like the sideways leaf, the upright one also didn’t realize that whether it resisted or cooperated, the river would still reach where it was meant to go.
But *between now and then, its time would be filled with *joy, not suffering.

The one fighting the flow (like the sideways leaf) can never win.
The one flowing with it (like the upright leaf) never truly controls it, yet lives in bliss.


Our life is also like this river—
A constant flow of happiness and sorrow.

The person who resists life’s natural flow, like the sideways leaf, is foolish.
Because life never stops for anyone, nor can it be stopped.

Those who try to hold on to happiness or rush past sorrow are simply wasting their efforts.

Because:

  • Happiness will stay for as long as it is meant to.
  • Sorrow will come for the time it is destined.

So why waste energy trying to resist the inevitable?

Instead, in every good and bad moment, live like the upright leaf—
Flow with life joyfully, as if you are not being taken by life, but you are taking life forward.

When you learn to live this simply and gracefully,
What is happiness? What is sorrow?


*👉 *Moral:
Don’t resist the flow of life so much that you end up tired, defeated, and confused.
Instead, ride the flow with joy so that by the end, you become the mystery for life—not the other way around.

Happiness is your inner wealth, not something external.
Seek it within, and you’ll always be content.**

Always stay cheerful — What you have is enough.
The one whose mind is joyful — has everything.

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