The parable of Siddhi Jaya and the shadow

What do you love about where you live?

Siddhi Jaya was a seeker who longed for silence more than gold or pearls. Each dawn, she sat cross-legged under a neem tree, closing her eyes to journey inward.

But the world of shadows was clever. They came to test her.
One morning, a shadow rang in her ear like a temple bell gone sour.
Another evening, a shadow blew hot, smelly breath across her face.
Another day, a scent of old, sweaty perfume circled her nose.

Siddhi Jaya trembled. “Why do they disturb me when all I want is peace?”

That night, in her dream, a radiant sage appeared and spoke gently:

> “Child, when you choose light, darkness comes to test if you are steady.
Do not fight them, and do not fear them.
Shadows only survive if you give them your attention.
Be like a mountain. Let the winds blow — yet you remain still.”



The next morning, Siddhi Jaya sat again. The shadows returned with their noises and smells. But this time she whispered:

> “You are not real. You are passing clouds. I am the sky.”



She placed her right hand on her heart, breathed deeply, and remembered the sage’s words. Slowly, the shadows grew thin, like mist before sunrise.

As days turned into weeks, Siddhi Jaya discovered a secret:
The more she filled her heart with prayer, love, and breath,
the less the shadows dared to approach.

Her lamp of awareness burned so brightly that even if a shadow lingered, it had no power.

And so Siddhi Jaya became known as the one who turned misery into freedom,
not because she destroyed the shadows, but because she outshone them.