Going Somewhere? Where?

Value: Duty

Sub-Value: Right conduct, Right attitude

The audio version of the story is available on the podcast Sai Prem: 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1498462/episodes/9893098-going-somewhere-where

Once, a courtier for a king was so idle and ease-loving that whenever the king ordered him to see someone, he raised flimsy objections like, “Perhaps, he is away,” “If he does not greet me, what shall I do?” “What if he gets wild?” “I may not be able to return in time,” and others.

Therefore, the king got the word “Fool” embroidered on a broad tape and commanded him to wear it on his brow so that all may learn a lesson. The courtier became the laughing stock of the palace.

Within a few months, the king was on his death bed, and the courtiers vied with one another in weeping over him. When the fool came near, the king told him with tears in his eyes, “I am leaving on my last journey, dear fool.”

The fool said, “Wait, I’ll bring the royal elephant.”

The king shook his head and said, “Elephants will not take me there.”

The fool pleaded that the king might use the chariot, but when told that chariots would also be of no avail, he suggested the royal steed as the alternative. Even that was of no help, he was told. Then the fool innocently asked the king. “To what strange place are you traveling?”

The king replied. “I don’t know.”

At this, the fool untied the tape from his brow and tied it on the brow of the dying king.

“You deserve this more; you know you are going, but you don’t know where! You know that elephants, horses, and chariots don’t go there, but you don’t know where it is or how it looks!” he said. But you can have some idea of that place if you evaluate your deeds and thoughts now, in this life.

Learning

Our actions, words, and deeds determine what we manifest in our lives now and in the future. Hence, it is important to be aware of our thoughts, words, and deeds.

( Source: https://saispeaks.sathyasai.org/discourse/search-sita-0)