Story of the week - The Raja

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Story of the week

 

The Raja

 

There was once a Raja, who had transferred all responsibility of

ruling to his Manthri, and who was spending his time in ease. He

never worried about anything, be it big or small. He had a personal

companion, whom he had always by his side, more or less as a

bodyguard. This fellow was very wise, for he never did anything

without deep deliberation, about the how and the why and the

wherefore. The Raja took all this deliberation to be just

foolishness and he nicknamed the companion, "Avivekasikhamani"

or "The Crest-Jewel of Fools". He went to the length of actually

engraving the title on a plate of gold and compelling him to wear it

on his forehead for all to see! Many people were mislead by this and

they took him to be an ignoramus at court; they did not heed his

words.

 

Meanwhile, the Raja fell ill and took to bed. The kingdom was combed

for physicians who could heal the king. Messengers went to the eight

corners, seeking drugs and doctors. Hundred were busy round the

royal patient, but, all efforts failed; the illness worsened day by

day. The Raja was at the very door of Death.

 

The Raja suspected that his end was near; so he hurriedly made some

dispositions, spoke to all those whom he wanted to meet, and was

immersed in sorrow. He had no thought of God or any other auspicious

Power. He was in terrible fear of Death and could not think of

anything else.

 

One day, he called Avivekasikhamani to his bedside and whispered

feebly in his ear, "Well; I am going soon, my friend!" Then, the

Fool asked without any compunction, "What? You are weak and cannot

walk a few steps; I shall order a palanquin, please wait till it is

ready.No palanquin can take me there," said the Raja. "Then, I

shall order a chariot," entreated the Fool. "The chariot too is of

no use," replied the Raja. "Of course, then, the horse is the only

means of journey," wailed the companion, who seemed eager to come to

the rescue of his master, and spare him the toils of travel. The

Raja said that the horse too could not enter there. The Fool was at

his wit's end. Then suddenly an idea struck him, he said, "Come on

master! I shall carry you there." The Raja became sad; he said, "My

dear friend, one has to go alone to that place, when one's time has

come. No companion can be taken." The Fool was thrown in great

doubt; he asked the Raja, "It is curious, is it not? You say that

the palanquin won't reach there, that the chariot can't go there,

nor the horse; you say that no second person can join you! Well

can't you tell me at least where that place is?" The Raja

replied, "I do not know."

 

Immediately, the Fool unwound the Golden Plate with the engraving of

the title, 'Avivekasikhamani', and tied it round the brow of the

Raja, saying "Raja! You know so much about the place, even, which

things cannot go there, but, you do not know where it is, and still

you are going there soon. O, you deserve this title much more." The

Raja was overcome with shame. "Alas," he said to himself, "I wasted

my years in eating and sleeping and pursuing pleasures, never caring

to inquire who I am, whence I came, what I am doing, whither I am

going, and why I came. The precious time allotted to me has come

very near its end. There is no time for me any more for all that

inquiry. Death is knocking at the door; children have started

weeping; my subjects are in great anxiety. Can I, under such

conditions immerse myself in inquiry? Can a thought that I never

entertained throughout my life suddenly arise now, during my last

moments? It is impossible. Yes, I deserve the title,

Avivekasikhamani more than anyone else, for I wasted my life in

useless pursuits; without any thought of the Reality." The Raja let

it be proclaimed that Inquiry is the best means of knowing the

Truth, that the inquiry must be directed to separating the true from

the untrue, the eternal from the temporary, that people should

arrive at the conclusion that, 'God is the only true and eternal

Entity' and that by their own independent investigation, his

subjects must not only grasp the entity intellectually but must also

attain the Grace of God, by their pure lives. Announcing this lesson

to his subjects, the Raja breathed his last.

 

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Source: Source: Prashanthi Vahini, p. 48

 

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