Kavya discovers the Power of Honesty

Story In the town of Shantipur lived a bright little girl named Kavya. She loved reading stories and playing with her friends. But there was one habit she had picked up lately, sometimes she would tell lies either because of fear or because of fun.

One morning at school, the teacher asked, “Kavya, did you finish your homework?”

Kavya had forgotten to do it. Scared, she said quickly, “Yes, Ma’am, I did. But I left the notebook at home.”

The teacher believed her, and Kavya felt excited. She kept saying to herself, “Nothing happens with one lie.”

The next day, she lied again when she hadn’t brought her craft project. Slowly, she gained confidence, and telling lies was not a big deal for her. But, soon, her friends stopped trusting her. They whispered, “Kavya always makes excuses.”

That evening, at home, her elder sister, Priya, was reading a doha of Sant Kabir. She had her Hindi exam the next day.

“Saanch barabar tap nahi, jhooth barabar paap,

Jake hriday mein saach hai, take hriday Hir aap.”

Kavya listened curiously. “Didi, what are you reading, and what does this mean?”

Priya smiled, “It means, there is no prayer greater than truth, and no sin worse than lies. Where there is truth, God Himself lives. This is a doha of Sant Kabir Das. You will read about it when you reach higher classes.”

Kavya thought about her lies in school. “If God lives in the heart of the honest, then He cannot be in mine,” she whispered sadly.

The next day, when the teacher asked again about her homework, Kavya stood up, gathered all the courage and said, “Ma’am, I did not finish it yesterday. I am sorry. I will complete it today.”

The teacher looked surprised, then smiled gently. “Thank you, Kavya, for telling the truth. Mistakes can be forgiven, but lies break trust. I am proud of your honesty.”

Kavya felt lighter, as though a burden had lifted from her heart. Her friends too smiled at her, and she knew she had found something more precious than marks or prizes: trust and God’s love inside her heart.