Long ago in a village near the forests of Malinda lived a bright but mischievous boy named Rajan.
He was clever full of energy and had a curious mind. Everyone believed he could one day become a great scholar.
But Rajan had fallen into bad company.
Every evening instead of studying he would run off to Rome with street boys, gambling, teasing travelers and playing tricks on the villagers.
His mother pleaded with him, “Beta, don’t waste your future.” But Rajan would laugh, “They’re my friends.
We have fun. What’s the harm?” One day, an old monk named Swami Virachara visited the village.
People gathered to hear his wisdom. Rajan’s mother asked him, “Swami G, my son is gifted but lost. Please guide him.”
The monk smiled and said, “Bring him to my hut at sunrise tomorrow.”
At dawn, Rajan lazily walked to the monk’s hut, yawning.
Inside, the monk sat by a fire holding two pieces of iron. One was dull, rusted, corroded by time.
The other glowing red, forged in the fire, shining bright. The monk said nothing for a moment.
Then he looked at Rajan and asked, “Do you know the difference between these two pieces of iron?”
Rajan shrugged. “They’re both metal.” The monk smiled.
One was left soaking in water in bad conditions, slowly rusting, losing its strength. The other went through fire, hammered with discipline, shaped with effort.
Now it’s a sword. He paused. Both had the same potential, but their company decided their fate. Rajan stood silently.
The meaning hit him deeper than any scolding ever had. He looked at the rusted iron and saw what he was becoming.
He looked at the forged blade and saw what he could be. From that day, Rajan changed.
He left the street boys. He began studying under the monk. Years later,
Rajan became a wise teacher himself, shaping other lost boys into swords, not rusted ruins. In life, we often tell ourselves, “I’m strong.
I won’t be affected.”
But even the strongest iron will rust if it lies in water long enough.
Not because it isn’t strong, but because it stayed in the wrong place too long.
We rarely realize it while it’s happening, but the people around you quietly shape your thoughts, your habits, and eventually your destiny.
Choose your company as carefully as you choose your path.
Be with those who challenge you, elevate you, and hold you to higher standards. The ones who forge you in fire, not let you settle in comfort.
Because in the end, you become who you’re with. And the right company doesn’t just change your journey, it transforms who you become at the destination.
If this story made you pause and reflect, give it a like, share with someone who needs it, and subscribe for more meaningful content.