There was once a talented painter who lived in a small village. His paintings looked so real that people admired his work from the bottom of their hearts.
One day, the priest and trustees of the village temple requested him to paint a beautiful mural on the large entrance wall inside the temple.
They said, "Whoever comes here to worship should feel content from the heart just by looking at the artwork. Your hands are blessed, so we request you to create this painting."
The painter agreed and said, "I want to paint Lord Krishna defeating King Kansa. I want the image of Krishna to look so alive that every devotee feels as if the Lord Himself is standing before them."
Everyone became extremely happy after hearing the painter's words.
Before starting, the painter made one request.
"I can only create a painting when I truly feel the emotions of the character. Please find me a face that reflects innocence, purity, and kindness. I want to see Krishna in that face."
The villagers, the temple priest, and all the trustees accompanied the painter to a school. They showed him many children with innocent faces and asked him to choose whichever child he felt reflected the face of Lord Krishna.
After looking at many children, the painter found one little boy whose face was filled with innocence. He brought the boy to the temple and used him as the inspiration for Lord Krishna's face.
The painter then began drawing Lord Krishna while looking at the boy.
After many days of hard work, the painting of Lord Krishna was completed. Everyone who saw it was amazed. They praised the painter, saying that the painting looked so real that it seemed as if Lord Krishna Himself was standing before them.
The boy felt proud that his face had inspired such a beautiful image of God.
The painter was then offered a job in a city through a letter. He had to leave immediately, so he could not complete the second part of the mural—the painting of Kansa.
Years passed.
After moving to the city, he forgot that he had left the painting of Kansa unfinished. Time went by, and the painter eventually grew old.
Nearly twenty-five years later, he returned to his village after getting leave from his work in the city.
By then, the priest and Acharya Ji had also grown old. When the painter visited the temple, the elderly priest reminded him,
"You completed Lord Krishna's painting twenty-five years ago, but you left this seva unfinished. Kansa's image is still incomplete. Now that you have returned, please complete your service."
The painter apologized and said,
"I became busy with my work in the city. This was my mistake. This time, I will complete the work that I left unfinished."
He then said,
"Now take me to someone whose face reflects anger, cruelty, and hatred. Only then will I be able to paint Kansa."
The villagers could not find such a person in the village, so they took him to a nearby prison where prisoners from five or six surrounding villages were kept.
The painter carefully looked at all the prisoners until he found one man whose face perfectly matched the image of Kansa.
The prisoner was brought to the temple along with a police officer and was asked to sit on the same seat where the little boy had once sat.
As soon as the prisoner sat down, he suddenly burst into loud tears.
Everyone was surprised.
The people asked him, "Why are you crying? What happened?"
The prisoner remained silent.
When the painting of Kansa was finally completed, everyone praised the painter, saying what a magnificent picture of Kansa he had created.
The prisoner then cried even more. He looked at the painting of Lord Krishna, then at the painting of Kansa, and continued crying uncontrollably. The people gently asked, "Why are you crying?"
The prisoner replied with tears in his eyes, "I am the same little boy whose face you used to paint Lord Krishna twenty-five years ago."
The temple became silent.
The prisoner continued,
"At that time, I was innocent like Krishna. But my wrong choices, bad company, and sinful actions changed my life. Today, I have become the face of Kansa. The same person who once inspired Krishna's image has now become the image of Kansa."
His words touched everyone's heart.
Every human being has both Krishna and Kansa within.
Our mind can become our greatest friend or our greatest enemy. It all depends on the choices we make and the actions we perform.
Good karma fills our life with peace, kindness, and wisdom.
Bad karma slowly changes our nature until we lose the goodness that once lived inside us.
Our destiny is not decided by our face, our family, or our past—it is shaped by our daily actions. Choose your karma wisely, because every choice creates the person you become.