The Power of Focus – Arjuna and the Bird's Eye

Story

Ravi was a bright 8-year-old boy who loved reading books and solving puzzles. He was curious about everything—from how aeroplanes flew to why stars twinkled. But despite being smart, his grades were average. His teachers noticed that he would start one task with energy but soon get distracted by sounds from the window, other students’ conversations, or even his own daydreams.

One day, his science teacher gently said, “Ravi, you have the talent, but you’re missing one thing—focus.”

That evening, after coming from school, Ravi was in deep thought. He kept his bag and sat quietly, looking outside the window.

Dadaji understood that something was bothering Ravi. He sat beside him and asked, "What happened Ravi?"

Ravi told everything to Dadji.

Dadaji smiled and said, “Let me tell you a story from the Mahabharata, about Arjuna, the greatest archer of his time.”

In ancient India, the Pandava princes were learning archery from Guru Dronacharya. Among them, Arjuna was his most dedicated disciple. One day, the Guru decided to test his students’ focus. He hung a wooden bird on a tree branch and called each student one by one. The task was to shoot at the wooden bird’s eye.

When the first student came forward, Dronacharya asked, “What do you see?”

The student replied, “I see the tree, the bird, and the sky.”

Dronacharya told him to step back.

Another student came and said, “I see the branch, the bird, and its wings.”

Again, Dronacharya shook his head and sent him away.

Finally, it was Arjuna’s turn. The Guru asked, “What do you see?”

Arjuna answered, “I see only the bird’s eye.”

“Not the tree? Not the branch?”

“No, Guru. Only the eye.”

Pleased, Dronacharya allowed him to shoot—and with perfect aim, Arjuna hit the bird’s eye.

Ravi’s eyes lit up. “Wow!" Arjuna didn’t let anything distract him,” he said.

His grandfather smiled, “Exactly. Talent is like an arrow, but focus is the bow that gives it power and direction.”

From that day, Ravi started training his mind like Arjuna. He started practising meditation to stop his mind from all sorts of distractions while studying. He set small goals and celebrated each moment of deep focus.

Slowly, his results improved—and so did his confidence.

Like Arjuna, if we can see only the ‘bird’s eye’—our goal—we can achieve anything.