The Story of Arjuna

Arjuna, son of Hindi God Indra and the king of the gods is also a well-known archetype of the warrior; the foundation for his life calling began young. He was an outstanding and diligent student, learning everything that his guru could teach him and early on in his life earning the status of an outstanding warrior.

His Guru once decided to test his students. He hung a wooden bird from the branch of a tree and then summoned his students. One by one, he asked his students to aim for the eye of the wooden bird and be ready to shoot; when they were ready, he would ask the student to describe all that they were able to see. The students generally described the garden, the tree, flowers, the branch from which the bird was suspended, and the bird itself. One by one Guru Dronacharya asked them to step aside until he reached Arjuna and he asked again, “Arjuna what do you see when you look at the bird?’’ His reply was short, “I see only the bird’s eye.”

Because he was so focused on the target, Arjuna teaches us to keep our eyes on what is most important.