Fairy Tales: Our Journey to Self-Realization

“Do you know why we are here—I don’t mean here where we are sitting or standing, but here on this planet? We’ve come for joy! We jumped in for joy, not to learn lessons, not to struggle and find life hard, not to pay off our karma. No, no. For joy.” So begins one of Srimati Shanti Mataji’s commentaries on a classic fairy tale. Fairy tales, Mataji believes, were written and circulated by mystics who understood the philosophy of Absolute Oneness (Advaita Vedanta), who understood our divine origin and inevitable destiny, and who understood the spiritual path to remembrance. In times past, such tales provided a way to convey in a concealed manner—much like the parables of Jesus the Christ—the highest truths. Children hearing a fairy tale would be enchanted at the story level. Thus, they would remember it and, in turn, tell it to their children. In this way, fairy tales passed down from generation to generation.

All the stories presented in this book preserve mystical truths and have much to offer each of us on our personal journey to enlightenment. Every character in every fairy tale represents some characteristic of ourselves, either a part of us now, a part that we have transcended, or a part yet to be realized. “Sleeping Beauty,” “Snow White,” “King Thrushbeard,” and “Rapunzel” come from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The Wizard of Oz—although, strictly speaking, not a fairy tale—contains profound spiritual symbolism. Other stories in this collection come from different parts of Western Europe, and two derive from Persia. As revealed in the wisdom of Mataji’s commentaries, fairy tales are not just for children but are for beings of all ages. She reveals how they charmingly teach the eternal truths of Oneness and the inseparability of Soul and God, the Absolute Reality.