But the young tiger would not believe him. So the tiger took him to a pool of water and made him look at his own reflection there. The young tiger was astonished and at last was convinced of his true identity. He forgot the notion of his being a lamb and passed the rest of his days among tigers.
In this story, the sheep represent worldly people who are ignorant of the Truth. The flock of sheep represents the general public. The tiger cub is an ignorant man; the full-grown tiger is the Sadguru; the pool of water symbolizes the Path; and recognizing the reflection is attaining God-realization.
Although the tiger cub was a tiger, out of ignorance, it took itself to be a sheep. And as long as the other tiger did not show it its reflection in the pool of water, this misconception continued. In the same way, though man is potentially God, being quite ignorant of his Real Self, he thinks himself to be only a man and passes through cycles of births and deaths. He continues wallowing in ignorance until the Sadguru makes him see his own true image.
From that day, the Prem Ashram school was reopened from eight to ten in the morning. On 22 December, the name of the Hazrat Babajan High School for the Meher Ashram children was changed to the Hazrat Babajan English School , and Baba revised the schedule of the schools. For the boys of Meher Ashram, whose school had begun on the 19th, classes were held from seven to nine in the morning and again from two to four in the afternoon. For the Prem Ashram boys, school was set from nine to noon, including Sundays. New tatta (bamboo matting) sheds, serving as classrooms, were ready for occupancy, and the boys went there at sunset. Baba personally handed out books to each student that day.
The previous few days, Baba had ordered Dara to meditate early in the morning, but he was often disobedient.
Later that day, Baba asked him, "Why didn't you meditate as I asked? I gave you special instructions about it."
Dara complained that it was so bitterly cold at 3:00 A.M. that he could not concentrate well.
Baba countered, "If cold makes you shirk from the spiritual path, how will you ever progress? To complain about extreme cold in winter, too much heat in summer, and rain in the monsoon is a tendency of human nature. If at any time pretexts are ready [to justify disobedience], how on earth are you to progress on the Path?"