For children aged 5 to 11 and their grown-ups
Pull up a cushion: the curtain is rising on brave hearts, kind hands, quiet minds and wise old tales. Pick a story to read aloud together, choose what happens at the crossroads, and breathe with the golden lotus.
On the stage tonight: a painted stage in layers: an enchanted forest with an old banyan, a tower of wisdom, a river of lanterns and a sky of stars, with the sun rising.
15 stories on four shelves. The theater stories play on a little animated stage, one short card at a time; the storybooks are picture books in English, हिन्दी or ਪੰਜਾਬੀ. Nothing is narrated, so they are made for reading aloud together.
Brave hearts who keep their word and stand by what is true, even when it is hard.
Theater story
Steady faith (Shraddha)
A trader’s ship is caught in a terrible storm, and he prays with all his heart, promising five hundred gold coins to the Guru.
The lesson: True faith does not bargain. It trusts completely, and the truth of the Guru is known from within.
Sikh history: Baba Makhan Shah Lobana finds Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji at Bakala (1664)
Theater story
Truth (Satya)
King Janak dreams he is a hungry beggar wandering the desert.
The lesson: Truth is what never changes. Knowing the witness within gives a courage nothing can shake.
From the tradition of King Janak and the sage Ashtavakra (Ashtavakra Gita)
Truth (Satya)
A precious diya breaks and nobody saw. What will Meera say? A story about Satya, the truth.
The lesson: Satya, the truth, makes our hearts light and our love strong.
Giving hearts, gentle hands and friends who listen to one another.
Theater story
Selfless service (Sewa)
An old mango tree gives cool shade, sweet fruit and a home for birds, year after year, and never asks for anything back.
The lesson: Sewa done without wanting praise or reward makes the heart pure and joyful.
A folk parable of selfless giving, told in many Indian homes
Theater story
Unity (Ekta)
An elder gives each of his quarrelling students a single thin reed, and each one snaps it easily.
The lesson: 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
Selfless service (Sewa)
The swing is free at last, but Amma ji needs a hand. A story about Sewa, helping with a happy heart.
The lesson: Sewa is helping with a happy heart, without wanting anything back.
Gentleness (Ahimsa)
A line of tiny ants needs to get home. Kabir has a stick, and a choice. A story about Ahimsa, gentleness.
The lesson: Ahimsa means gentle hands, gentle words and a gentle heart for every living being.
Compassion (Karuna)
Ishaan is afraid of the big cow at the gaushala, until he learns that kindness is a bridge between friends.
The lesson: Kindness turns strangers into friends, and gratitude makes every gift sweeter.
Still minds, steady aims, and the light that was shining inside all along.
Theater story
Meditation (Dhyan)
Arjun cannot study or rest, because a swirling cloud of worries covers his little lamp like soot.
The lesson: Peace does not come from running away from our thoughts. It comes when we light the lamp of meditation inside.
An original story inspired by the teachings in Akhand Gyan
Theater story
Wholehearted devotion (Samarpan)
Ekalavya, a boy of the forest, longs to learn archery from a great teacher.
The lesson: Single-minded devotion opens powers inside us that talent alone never reaches.
Inspired by Ekalavya in the Mahabharata (Adi Parva); the end of the original is left out for young c
Theater story
Gentleness (Ahimsa)
A little monk meditates in a small boat on a misty lake when another boat bumps into his.
The lesson: Things outside us cannot take away our peace unless we let them. Gentleness begins with calming our own mind.
Inspired by the ancient parable of the empty boat (Zhuangzi)
Meditation (Dhyan)
Aarav’s busy Monkey Mind will not sit still, until Dadi Ma shows him the quiet Inner Sun.
The lesson: A calm mind sees clearly and chooses kindly.
Old parables and a saint’s verse about what truly matters.
Theater story
Wise discernment (Vivek)
A shiny golden pitcher looks down on a humble clay pot at the village well.
The lesson: Pride keeps grace out; humility lets the nectar of grace fill our lives.
A folk parable of humility told across India
Theater story
Direct experience (Anubhuti)
Four blindfolded seekers each touch a different part of an elephant: one says it is a spear, one a fan, one a pillar, one a rope.
The lesson: Arguments come from seeing only a part. Direct seeing, like the inner experience of Brahm Gyan, shows the whole truth.
A parable from ancient India, told in Jain and Buddhist texts
Theater story
Contentment (Santosh)
A young deer smells a heavenly fragrance and runs through thorns, rocks and dark valleys looking for it, until it is exhausted.
The lesson: Lasting happiness is not out there to be chased. It is already within us.
Inspired by Sant Kabir’s doha “Kasturi kundal basai, mrig dhoondhe ban maahi”
For grown-ups
Free, with no sign-up and no ads. The stories are made for children aged 5 to 11 to enjoy with a parent, grandparent or teacher. Nothing is narrated and no computer voice reads aloud: the words appear one short card or page at a time, so they are lovely to read aloud together, at your child’s own pace.
What the stories teach: truth (Satya), steady faith (Shraddha), selfless service (Sewa), gentleness (Ahimsa), compassion (Karuna), unity (Ekta), meditation and inner calm (Dhyan), wholehearted devotion (Samarpan), contentment (Santosh), wise discernment (Vivek) and direct experience (Anubhuti). Each card says what its story is about and, for the theater stories, where it comes from: a scripture, a saint’s verse, Sikh history, a folk parable or an original story.
How the theater works: each theater story is told in three short acts. At the crossroads your child chooses what to do, and every choice is a kind one. After the story comes one calm minute of breathing with a golden lotus while trying four simple hand gestures (mudras). Gurus and Masters are never drawn; their presence is shown as light.
The lotus breathing is a calm-down game for children, not a medical exercise, and not the meditation DJJS teaches: that, direct inner perception (Brahm Gyan), is revealed at initiation by a perfect living Master. Read about it.
