The Cross Roads

A man had to travel to a nearby village on some urgent work. There were two roads to reach the place. One was longer but familiar. The other was shorter, but it passed through a quiet stretch that people avoided after sunset.

As evening approached, he found himself standing at the fork in the road. He knew the shorter path would save him time. But something within him hesitated.

“What if something happens?” he thought.

Unable to decide, he turned back and went to Sai Baba.

“Baba,” he said, “I know the way, but I am afraid to take it.”

Baba listened quietly. After a moment, he said,

“Is the road different… or your thought about it?”

The man paused. He had walked that path many times during the day. Only now, in the dim light, it seemed different.

Baba looked at him and added gently,

“Walk with attention, not with fear.”

The man returned to the fork in the road. This time, he chose the shorter path. Nothing unusual happened. But something within him had changed. The road was the same, only his mind had been different.

Moral

Fear often comes from thought, not reality.

When we see clearly, fear loses its hold. Walk with awareness, not imagination.