A king and a shepherd

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Light and Love

 

An ancient story tells that a king in Kapila was putting questions to

various scholars in his kingdom. He was not satisfied with their answers and so

turned them away from his court. A shepherd, who heard about this, came to the

king and said he was prepared to answer any questions put by the king. The king

was surprised at his claim and said that if he failed to give a satisfactory

answer he would be beheaded. The shepherd agreed. Then, he told the king that

they should exchange places in keeping with the new situation, in which the

king would be the learner and the shepherd would be the teacher. The king

transferred his robe to the shepherd and sat at his feet, while the shepherd

put on the king's robe and sat on the throne. He then asked the king to put his

questions.

The king's first question was: "What does God do in this world?" The

shepherd answered: "He makes a millionaire a pauper and a pauper a millionaire.

Till now I was a poor man. Now I have been made a king with a seat on the

throne. From being a king, you are now wearing a shepherd's clothing. This is

what God has done."

The king was fairly satisfied with the answer. His second question was:

"Whom does God favor? Who is the recipient of His grace?" The shepherd pointed

to a light and said : "The light from the lamp sends its rays in all

directions. Likewise, God, who is embodiment of all effulgence, sees in all

direction, and showers His grace on all." The king was pleased with the answer.

 

While the shepherd was wondering what the king's third question would be,

the king addressed him as "Swami!" and said: "Where is God?" The shepherd

brought a cup of milk and asked the king: "Can you say in what part of the milk

there is butter? In every molecule of the milk there is butter. Likewise, God,

who is everywhere, has to be enshrined in the heart, turned into curd by good

deeds and churned by sadhana. Then there will be direct experience of the

Divine."

 

The king was totally satisfied with the answers of the shepherd. He gave

away half of his kingdom to the shepherd and declared that wisdom was to be

found more among the common folk than among scholars. There is nothing great in

mere scholarship as such. To give intelligent answers to questions out of wisdom

gained from daily life is what matters.

 

(A brief compilation from, Sathya Sai Baba. The divine discourse, "From

Negative to Positive." 15 Feb 1998, Prashanti Nilayam).

 

Namaste - Reet