Solomon and the Bee

[mahak]

 

King Solomon and the Bee

 

by mahaksadasa, 2001

 

King Solomon is reknowned for his wealth and wisdom, his beauty and his power, and everlasting fame as the rightful ruler of the entire world. His greatest possession in the culmination of full receipt of these opulences is the ability to acknowledge the actual Source of all these gifts and to teach the world of the vanity of maintaining false identification of the material frame and circumstances as the actual self. The saintly nature of King Solomon can be shown in a simple story of how the topmost being enlists the service of the very least amongst us to attain the highest goal of life, the reciprocation of spiritual love. Such reciprocation is not only felt by the principal actors, but for all who facillitate such joining without regard to social or natural status. This is the story of King Solomon and the Bee.

 

One day, King Solomon was taking a midday rest in his palace greenhouse. The atmosphere of such a place cannot be adequately described, but there is indication that no place can be compared to it outside the Spiritual Kingdom of Lord Jahovia Himself. The fragrances, the mists, the flavors, the utter comfort made any person who entered able to fulfill all desires at once. The drowsy would become enlivened, the weary would fall asleep, hunger, thirst, and pain would be eliminated simply by the aromas of the herbs, flowers and fruit trees. The floor was solid emerald and the marble walls were gold leafed by the world's finest artisans. The sounds of the birds and insects were as pleasing as the finest music from the palace minstrels.

 

King Solomon had just received tribute from every kingdom from the orient as well as the island kingdoms of the west. He had greeted the entire arrangement of the world's nobility, who gladly presented their treasuries in recognition of his righteous and just rule. All world war had ceased, and King Solomon was in deserved deep sleep. All of a sudden, a little honey bee landed on his nose. When King Solomon brushed the bee with his hand, the bee accidentally stung the sleeping king.

 

King Solomon awoke enraged. He spoke every language of the world fluently, including the language of the beasts, birds, and insects. He immediately summoned every insect of the royal city to come before him. From the earth, sea, and sky, all the flying insects and crawling bugs came to the beaconing of the king, eager to end his suffering and take his perfect combination of justice and mercy. King Solomon's nose was swollen and bright red as he spoke gravely, "Who has viciously attacked your innocent king while in sleep?" Of the billions of creatures assembled in the greenhouse, the little honey bee came forward without fear, in full expectation of the king's righteousness.

 

"My dear king", the little bee prayed, "I have made a serious mistake. I am very young and impetuous, and have not yet learned the art of collecting pollens for the royal apiary. My untrained senses lead me from one sweet flower to the next, and when I alighted upon your nose, I just thought it was but another flower. I was startled by the sudden movement of your hand and while attempting to fly away, my stinger inadvertantly got stuck in your skin. Please, my dear king, forgive my youthful and terrible offense."

 

King Solomon was greatly moved by the honesty and bravery of the little honey bee, and, full of compassion, forgave him at once. He gave all the insects his royal blessings and they continued their normal duties. The little bee, however, remained, and gave King Solomon a benediction, saying, "My Dear King, your justice and mercy are unfathomable. I will repay your kindness by coming to you when you do not ask, and will arrange for your greatest happiness." The swelling had subsided and the king rested comfortably, quite pleased as well as amused by the entire incident, which was soon forgotten.

 

A year had passed, and, to the south, in the Kingdom of Abyssinia, Queen Makeda, of the House of Sheeba, became eligible for marriage. Makeda was the most beautiful maiden, and her wisdom and grace was well known throughout the world. Since she was a child, she vowed to give her attention entirely to worship and devotion to the One God of Creation. Every thought, word, and deed reflected such unalloyed love of Lord Jahovia, so when it came time for her to marry, she naturally asked for spiritual guidance. The Angel Gabriel appeared to her in a dream, and helped her devise a plan to find a husband specifically arranged for and approved by Lord Jahovia Himself. She would only agree to marry one who could solve a series of puzzles, using not only strenght, wealth, beauty, fame and wisdom, but also using humility to indicate devotion to Lord Jahovia equal to her own.

 

King Solomon desired to include the oppulent Afar Region of Abyssinia in his kingdom. He heard of Queen Makeda and her vows, and knew she would only marry one approved by Lord Jahovia. He sent a messenger to her, inviting her to his kingdom. When she arrived with her entourage, King Solomon immediately forgot all desire of expanding his kingdom and only thought of her love, her light and her Lord Jahovia. She agreed that he was indeed eligible to take the test of her puzzles. One after another, King Solomon solved with ease any riddle brought before him. Puzzles involving constellations, cloud movements, mathmatical calculations, word puzzles in all languages, all were solved with relative ease. The king had proved worthiness in all respects and the fulness of all opulences was assured. Queen Makeda had only one puzzle left to submit to him, the test of humility and renunciation.

 

The Queen summoned one hundred of her maidservants into the greenhouse, windows closed due to the chilly winter breezes. The exotic princesses each held a bouquet of the finest flowers imaginable, fragrant and delicately arranged. Queen Makeda spoke to King Solomon the rules of the game. "Dear Sir, you may walk the five aisles of twenty maidens and examine the quality of their bouquets. You may smell, touch and judge as you wish, then you must stand by my side. You will then take a moment, but then you must select only one bouquet. There is only one bouquet made from actual flowers from my homeland, the other ninety-nine are hand made by expert artists. If you can select the genuine from the artificial, then you have honestly demonstrated your love for me, and I will accept you as my very self."

 

King Solomon examined the bouquets for hours, carefully touching and smelling each one. Each bouquet was so perfectly constructed that there were no signs of artificiality whatsoever. Even pinching the stems produced sap, even rubbing the whorls left pollens of sweet taste and aroma on his fingers. Each bouquet was different beyond comparison. After his close examination of all one hundred bouquets, King Solomon stood next to Queen Makeda with great sadness in his heart. Suddenly, a movement outside the closed window caught the king's attention, a little bee was anxiously trying to enter. King Solomon asked his servant to open the window, and the bee flew in, unnoticed by all except the king. The little bee flew directly to a Nubian Princess dressed in gold robes and diamond headdress, holding a bouquet of red, green, and yellow flowers. The king, without hesitation selected the bouquet much to the pleasure and excitement of Queen Makeda.

 

Queen Makeda announced with great joy, "My King Solomon, although no one will ever surpass you in wealth and wisdom, you are able to take instruction from the least among you. Recognizing true wisdom by your humility, you are able to teach the world to know reality from the artificial. You have passed all my tests, thus may the Lord Jahovia be pleased to combine us in His service." The King and Queen were duly married, and their union produced the keeper of the Ark of the Covenant, the noble King Menyalek.

 

[Govindaram]

 

I read this story breify, something to do with humility, we can learn even from an incect, so we should listen more carefully when critisized by somebody, and not just suddenly jump to conclutions that they are against us, breath deeply think, control the dreaded anger, and see whats to be done, tried it myself works a charm lol/