Junior Sadhaks
Storytime Theater Ten circles of light
Animated moral stories on a little theater stage. Make a choice at every crossroads, breathe with the golden lotus, learn a Mudra (Hand Gesture for Focus)Mudra · Hand Gesture for Focus A simple hand position used during breathing or meditation to steady attention, much like a posture cue in yoga., and earn a values badge for your Star Passport.
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The Storytime Circles
Choose a story
Each circle is a story in three acts, read at your own pace: the world and its problem, a crossroads where you choose, and the awakening your choice leads to. Then comes a one-minute Mudra (Hand Gesture for Focus)Mudra · Hand Gesture for Focus A simple hand position used during breathing or meditation to steady attention, much like a posture cue in yoga. and breathing workshop. The stage is a little 3D theater built right here in your browser (drag it gently to look around, tap the lamp, the water or the tree), or a hand-drawn picture stage on devices that prefer it. Read the story aloud together and tap to continue when you are ready.
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Dhyan · Inner Light
The Mystery of the Inner Sun
Arjun cannot study or rest, because a swirling cloud of worries covers his little lamp like soot. Blowing at the soot only spreads it everywhere. His teacher shows him a better way: sitting still and turning within to the light that was always there.
Inspired by An original story inspired by the teachings in Akhand Gyan
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Shraddha · Steady Faith
Makhan Shah and the True Anchor
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. Safe on shore, he reaches the village of Bakala and finds twenty-two men each saying “I am the Guru”. He offers each just two coins, and waits for the one who knows his promise without being told.
Inspired by Sikh history: Baba Makhan Shah Lobana finds Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji at Bakala (1664)
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Sewa · Giving Heart
The Garden of Nishkam Sewa
An old mango tree gives cool shade, sweet fruit and a home for birds, year after year, and never asks for anything back. When a proud traveller asks why it does not charge a fee, the tree tells him its secret: the joy is in the giving.
Inspired by A folk parable of selfless giving, told in many Indian homes
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Ahimsa · Calm Waters
The Little Monk and the Empty Boat
A little monk meditates in a small boat on a misty lake when another boat bumps into his. He opens his eyes ready to shout, and finds the other boat is empty, just drifting. He realises the anger was never in the other boat; it was in his own mind.
Inspired by Inspired by the ancient parable of the empty boat (Zhuangzi)
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Satya · True Witness
The King and the Touchstone of Truth
King Janak dreams he is a hungry beggar wandering the desert. Waking on his silk bed, he wonders which is real: the king or the beggar? The sage Ashtavakra explains that both come and go; what is truly real is the one who watches them both, the witness within.
Inspired by From the tradition of King Janak and the sage Ashtavakra (Ashtavakra Gita)
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Samarpan · Single Aim
The Archer’s Unwavering Gaze
Ekalavya, a boy of the forest, longs to learn archery from a great teacher. With no one to teach him, he shapes an image of the teacher from clay and practises before it every day with complete devotion. While others are distracted, his gaze stays on his aim.
Inspired by Inspired by Ekalavya in the Mahabharata (Adi Parva); the end of the original is left out for young c
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Vivek · Humble Heart
The Broken Clay Pot and the Well of Amrit
A shiny golden pitcher looks down on a humble clay pot at the village well. When a long drought comes, the stiff golden pitcher stays hot and dry, while the clay pot lets cool water soak through its earth and stays sweet and refreshing for everyone.
Inspired by A folk parable of humility told across India
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Ekta · Strong Together
The Unbreakable Bundle of Sangathan
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.
Inspired by A fable of unity told in many lands
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Anubhuti · Seeing Whole
The Four Seekers and the Cosmic Elephant
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. They argue, until a guide removes their blindfolds and they see the whole, living elephant together.
Inspired by A parable from ancient India, told in Jain and Buddhist texts
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Santosh · Inner Fragrance
The Kasturi Deer and the Secret Fragrance
A young deer smells a heavenly fragrance and runs through thorns, rocks and dark valleys looking for it, until it is exhausted. Resting by a stream, it discovers that the fragrance was coming from its own body, the kasturi, all along.
Inspired by Inspired by Sant Kabir’s doha “Kasturi kundal basai, mrig dhoondhe ban maahi”
After every story
The mudra & focus-breathing workshop
At the end of each Storytime Circle the stage guides one calm minute: breathe with the golden lotus (in for 4 seconds, hold for 2, out for 4) while you try four hand gestures, each a Mudra (Hand Gesture for Focus)Mudra · Hand Gesture for Focus A simple hand position used during breathing or meditation to steady attention, much like a posture cue in yoga., 15 seconds each. To start, choose any story above and press “Begin the mudra workshop” after the recap.
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Chin Mudra (Focus Gesture)
The gesture of awareness
Touch the tip of your pointer finger to the tip of your thumb, like a tiny circle. Keep the other three fingers straight and relaxed. Rest your hands on your knees, palms up. For focus and a clear, bright mind.
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Hridaya Mudra (Compassion Gesture)
The gesture of the heart
Curl your pointer finger down to the bottom of your thumb. Touch the tips of your middle and ring fingers to the tip of your thumb. Keep your little finger straight. For a soft, kind and calm heart.
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Prana Mudra (Vitality Gesture)
The gesture of energy
Touch the tips of your ring finger and little finger to the tip of your thumb. Keep your pointer and middle fingers straight, side by side. For fresh energy, like sunshine inside.
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Dhyana Mudra (Stillness Gesture)
The gesture of meditation
Rest both hands in your lap, palms up: right hand on top of the left. Let your two thumbs touch gently, making a little bowl. For stillness, the way a lake becomes still.
Values badges
Your Star Passport of values
Finish a story to light up its value.
- DhyanInner Light: not yet
- ShraddhaSteady Faith: not yet
- SewaGiving Heart: not yet
- AhimsaCalm Waters: not yet
- SatyaTrue Witness: not yet
- SamarpanSingle Aim: not yet
- VivekHumble Heart: not yet
- EktaStrong Together: not yet
- AnubhutiSeeing Whole: not yet
- SantoshInner Fragrance: not yet
A grown-up can sign in and choose a child to download the Junior Sadhaks Values Certificate (PDF).
Download the Values Certificate (PDF) Open the Star Passport
For grown-ups
These are retellings for children aged 5 to 11. Each card says where its story comes from: a scripture, a saint’s verse, Sikh history, a folk parable, or an original story inspired by the teachings in Akhand Gyan. Gurus and Masters are never drawn; their presence is shown as light. The Ekalavya story leaves out the end of the original, which is hard for young children.
Every story is told in three acts. At each crossroads every answer is a kind one, lit by Satya (truth), Dharma (doing what is right) or Shanti (peace), and each choice leads to its own part of the story before the shared lesson and a “Tonight, when…” idea to try at home. When you are signed in and choose a child, the finished story, the choice and a story star are saved under the child’s first name only. Links out of the theater to giving, the Sangat Portal or admin pages ask a grown-up first.
Nothing is narrated and no device voice ever reads here: the story appears one short card at a time and moves on only when the child taps “Continue” (or presses Space, Enter or →), so it is lovely to read aloud together. The only sounds are made by your browser: a soft raaga bed (a tanpura drone tuned to A = 432 Hz with an occasional bansuri phrase) and small sounds when the child taps the stage or chooses (a brass bell, a flame’s crackle, water, birdsong, a singing bowl). Nothing sounds until the first tap, and the Music switch, remembered on this device, silences everything.
The mudras are shown as simple, friendly drawings. If a position is uncomfortable, a relaxed open hand is just fine. Dhyan (Meditation)Dhyan · Meditation Turning attention inward and holding it steady, so the mind settles and inner experience becomes clear. and Sadhna (Daily Meditation Practice)Sadhna · Daily Meditation Practice Regular, disciplined meditation on the inner experience received in Brahm Gyan; the daily workout of the mind. grow with a little practice every day.