The Bell-Eared Demon

Story

The 8-year-old Aditya had a habit of talking highly about his things to his friends. He often said things like, “My lunchbox is better,” or “My robot toy is smarter than yours!” Whether it was stationery, games, or gadgets, he believed that he had the best things.

One evening, he came home from school and said, “Rishi was showing off his remote-control car. It was good, but mine is faster and looks way better.”

Dadi was making evening tea, she could sense the pride on Aditya's face.

Dadi called Aditya, "Come here. Let me tell you a story.”

Aditya sat beside her, curious. He loved Dadi’s stories.

And she began, “Long ago, there lived a man who was a great devotee of Bhagwan Shiva. He prayed daily and offered incense and flowers to Bhagwan Shiva. But he disliked anyone who worshipped Bhagwan Vishnu. He believed Shiva was the only true God and refused to even hear any other god's name, especially Bhagwan Vishnu’s name.

To avoid hearing  Bhagwan Vishnu’s name, he did something strange. He pierced his ears and tied tiny bells to them. Whenever someone said Vishnu, he shook his head to ring the bells and block out the sound.

One night, Shiva came to him in a dream and said, ‘What a fool you are! I am Vishnu, and I am Shiva. We are the same. Only our names and looks are different.’

But the man replied, "I don't believe in any other God, you are the only God for me."

The next morning, when the devotee was lighting incense for Shiva, something strange happened. The fumes of the incense rose, and he saw, half of the idol looked like Bhagwan Shiva and the other half like Bhagwan Vishnu.

The man was shocked. He covered Vishnu’s nose so the incense wouldn’t reach him.

Shiva was disappointed by his devotee. He said, "You do not love me, you love only your pride. When you hate others, you forget the truth of love."

And so, the man turned into a demon—bell-eared demon—a symbol of those who boast about their own ways and refuse to respect the ways of others.”

Aditya sat quietly, thinking.

Dadi gently said, "It’s good to like what we have, but we should also respect what others have. We shouldn’t show off. When we think only our things are the best, we start caring more about our pride than our friends.

We must remember that just like our things and friends are special to us, other people’s things and friends are special to them. And when we talk too much about how great our things are, we might hurt others without even knowing it."

Aditya looked down in guilt and softly said, “So… I was like that bell-eared man?”

Dadi smiled warmly, “Maybe just a little. But the best part is, you understood your mistake. That makes you wiser already.”

Aditya looked up and smiled. “Tomorrow, I’ll tell Rishi his car is cool too.”

Dadi chuckled and kissed his forehead. “That’s my boy.