A young boy came running to the philosopher “Shivana” (a pre-Islamic Iranian thinker) and said, “My mother has decided to sacrifice my little innocent sister at the feet of the great idol in the temple, please save her.” Shivana immediately accompanied the boy to the temple and saw that the woman had tied the girl’s hands and feet with ropes and was reading something with closed eyes,
holding a knife in her hand. Many people had gathered around the woman, and the temple priest was sitting proudly near the idol on a large stone, witnessing all this. When Shivana approached the woman, he saw that she had immense love for her daughter,
hugging and kissing her repeatedly, yet she was willing to sacrifice her most beloved for the idol’s satisfaction. Shivana asked her why she wanted to sacrifice her daughter. The woman replied, “The priest has guided me to sacrifice my dearest existence for the satisfaction of the temple idol, so that the difficulties of my life are permanently resolved
“Smiling, Shivana said, “But this girl is not your most beloved…? Your most beloved is the priest sitting on the stone, who persuaded you to sacrifice the life of an innocent flower-like girl at his behest. This idol is not foolish; it wants the sacrifice of your most beloved.
If you mistakenly sacrifice your daughter instead of the priest, it might not spare you further and turn your life into hell.” After some thought, the woman untied the girl’s hands and feet and ran towards the priest with the knife, but he had already left. They say that from that day on, he was never seen again in that area. Only awareness is virtuous in the world, and ignorance is the only sin.
