There was a fish…
A small story
There was a fish
Who got caught in a fisherman’s net
There were plenty of worms in there
And the fish didn’t know it was inside a net while it was getting used to eating the worms
Day by day it grew nice and fat
Soon the tiny fish was big enough to be eaten
It was only when the fisherman came for it that the fish realized its fate
It wanted out but it had nowhere to go
And no one to come to its rescue
It kept calling Irish tongue to all the passersby while the fisherman was slowly retrieving his net
If nothing happened now, soon it would be toast
It prayed, it cried, it leaned closer to the farthest edge of the net
In panic it put out a fin and kept cooing
Then suddenly it saw shark like strong teeth
Before it knew it the fish got released
It was filled with gratitude for the shark that released it
It knew that if it went any closer to the shark it might be consumed by it
But that didn’t deter the little fish one bit
It tagged along wherever the shark went
It stayed as close as possible without getting into its face directly
It discreetly admired the shark and its huge teeth
And wondered silently how it would feel like to get eaten by it
The fish was in love with the shark
It didn’t care if it was eaten or not
Since it was anyway going to be toast
But now it had been granted life for awhile and it couldn’t stop following the shark
The shark was kind also.
It knew this fish can be food for any day
Yet it still chose to not use it for food yet
Would it keep its vows to itself always?
Won’t it be tempted to eat the fish someday?
Perhaps if its dying and doesn’t have any other means for food
But for now, the company that this fish keeps him is good
He likes admiration
He likes to be watched and adored as well
After all didn’t he do a kind thing for the fish by releasing it from its fate for the time being
If the fish were a smart fish, it would have swam away as fast as it could and been free
But by constantly lurking near the shark, wasn’t it endangering itself and sealing its fate once again?
Or was it? Did it just realize that by hanging out with the big shark, it was calling attention to itself from all the other fishes and sharks alike, that it was now elevated somehow and they better be careful with it if they don’t want their fate in the shark’s teeth?
Perhaps there’s some truth there as well but the fish lingers only because it cannot move away from its savior. It is now free but also indebted to the shark forever!
We each encounter tight spots in our lives due to our own faults sometimes and when somebody comes to our rescue, we become entangled with them for life. It’s not their fault, they were only being kind. But as for us, we cannot forget what they did for us and we cannot stop feeling gratitude and indebtedness to them even if they are sharks who can come for us anytime in our lives.
What are we to do?
When at last you reach the doorstep of your destiny, you will also meet with truths that will release you from life’s imprisonments. When that happens, won’t you be happy to tag along with whoever comes to your rescue and in that tagging, find God?
Think Eckhart Tolle!
Perhaps this is what is called spiritual awakening. You being trapped in your own mind inside what you call ego, that tells you that you are an individual separate from the universe.
Then comes the season of being caught up in the world trying to prove yourself that you are this and that and how amazing you are. Finally you encounter life which makes you feel imprisoned by it, caught up in the net.
Then comes the shark moment, God in action through somebody or something and you get released from wherever it was that was holding you down and under and now that you are free from the stresses and anxieties of life, you choose to follow the eternal one, you choose to go behind truth, you choose enlightenment and follow it everywhere you go.
Seekers finders!
Does free will even exist?
Think about this!
Peace ✌🏽
Oh Shalini… the story you wrote is beautiful. It carries a deeper meaning, and it stirred something in me.
To the same story, I want to bring a different angle....I hope you’ll appreciate this too.
Let’s imagine the small fish as Karna and the shark as Duryodhana.
Karna faced so much... injustice, humiliation, and the kind of pain a person of his calibre never deserved. Good people made choices according to them within the rules... hurt him bad… just like the maybe fisherman who waits for the fish to grow only to feed his children. That’s his swadharma.
In the same way, when the Karna is saved by the Duryodhana and chooses to accompany him, he is simply showing gratitude. If the shark ever needed help, fish would probably stand by it. Again, Karna would be following his swadharma.
And the shark? It too acts according to its own swadharma, as it understands it same as Duryodhana
But there is something everyone forgets... Lokdharma, the greater good, what benefits society as a whole.
If tomorrow the shark attacks other fishes... not because it needs food, but simply because it can ...will the small fish still support the shark just because it once saved him?
Will gratitude blind him?
Or will he choose what is right for the world around him?
This is the very question at the heart of the Mahabharata.
If Karna, Bhishma, Dronacharya, even Duryodhana had paused and asked themselves this… Kurukshetra might never have happened.
Your story opened up these thoughts in me.
Thank you for sparking them.
Shalini’s story is tender, haunting, and quietly profound. Beneath its simple rhythm lies a deep emotional truth how easily we mistake comfort for freedom, and how salvation, when it comes, can bind us in ways we never expected. The fish’s devotion to the shark is not just gratitude it’s longing, awe, and the ache of being seen in a moment of helplessness. We’ve all been that fish at some point: caught, rescued, and left wondering whether our closeness to power is love, fear, or both. Shalini captures the complexity of spiritual awakening with such grace the ego’s illusions, the hunger for meaning, the surrender to something greater. Her words don’t just tell a story; they echo a feeling many of us carry but rarely name. This is more than a parable it’s a mirror held up to the soul.