A scrolling story · for children aged 5 to 11 and their grown-ups
Unity (Ekta)
An elder gives each of his quarrelling students a single thin reed, and each one snaps it easily. Then he ties twenty reeds together with a sacred red thread. No matter how hard they try, the bundle will not break.
Scroll down, or use the arrow keys, to walk through the story. Nothing is narrated: it is made for reading aloud together.
Act 1 · The World & the Conflict
Act 1 · card 1 of 3
Beside a wide, slow river, where tall reeds whispered in the breeze, stood a little school under a banyan tree. Four students learned there from a kind old elder: Dev, Gauri, Nikhil and Asha. They had been best friends since they were tiny. They swam together, shared their lunches and dreamed of building a boat one day.
Act 1 · card 2 of 3
But this summer something had gone wrong. “Mine!” shouted Dev, grabbing the best fishing net. “No, it’s my turn!” cried Gauri. Nikhil sulked because nobody listened to his boat plan, and Asha refused to talk to anyone at all. Soon they ate lunch in four separate corners, each lonely and cross, each sure the others were wrong.
Act 1 · card 3 of 3
Then the village headman came with news: the monsoon rains were coming early, and the river would rise. Families needed help carrying rice sacks up to the high ground before the storm. “We will need everyone,” said the elder, looking at his four quarrelling students. They glared at one another. How could they help anyone when they could not even share a net?
Act 2 · The Crossroads
Act 2 · card 1 of 1
The elder walked down to the riverbank and picked four dry reeds. He gave one to each student. “Break it,” he said. Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap! Easy. The students shrugged. Then the elder gathered twenty reeds into a bundle and held up a sacred red thread. “Before I show you what this can do,” he said, “tell me: what will help you most right now?”
The crossroads · every path is a kind one
Tap a path to see where it leads. You can open all three: there is no wrong answer.
The friends chose Satya (truth). One by one, they said what was really in their hearts. “I grabbed the net because I felt left out.” “I stopped talking because I was hurt.” Honest words, kindly spoken, are like warm sunlight on ice. Soon the four of them were laughing, a little embarrassed, and sitting side by side again.
The friends chose Dharma (doing what is right). Dev handed over the fishing net. “Your turn first, Gauri.” Gauri grinned. “Then let’s use Nikhil’s boat plan, and Asha can choose the colours.” Sharing fairly felt strange at first, and then wonderful. Every kind turn was like another reed added to the bundle.
The friends chose Shanti (peace). For the first time in weeks, they stopped talking over one another. Dev listened to Gauri. Asha listened to Nikhil. They discovered that each of them had felt left out. Listening was like the first loop of thread around the reeds: quietly, gently, it began to pull them close again.
Act 3 · The Inner Awakening
Act 3 · card 1 of 2
The elder tied the twenty reeds tightly with the red thread. “Now break this,” he said. The four friends pushed, pulled and bent with all their might, together. The bundle would not break! “One reed alone snaps easily,” smiled the elder, “but reeds held by the same thread are strong.” That evening, side by side, they carried every sack to safety.
Act 3 · card 2 of 2
This is Ekta (unity), and Sangathan (a family of seekers walking together). In DJJS, seekers are held by one thread: the Master’s guidance and the inner light of Brahm Gyan (divine knowledge) that they share. When hearts are tied together by love for the same goal, no storm can scatter them, just like the reeds by the river.
Try it tonight
Tonight, think of one person you have argued with lately, maybe a brother, a sister or a friend. Imagine a red thread from your heart to theirs. Then do one small thing to make it stronger tomorrow: say sorry, share something, or simply listen to them for one whole minute without interrupting.
The heart of the story
When seekers stand together as one family under the Master’s guidance, no storm can shake them.
A fable of unity told in many lands
