A long time ago, there was a country where the people would change their king every year. The person who would become the king had to agree to a contract that he would be sent into exile to an island after his one year of being king was over.
One king finished his term and it was time for him to go to the island and live there. The people dressed him up in expensive clothes and put him on an elephant and took him around the cities to say goodbye to all the people. This was a moment of sadness for all the kings who ruled for one year. After saying farewell, the people took the king in a boat to a remote island and left him there.
On their way back, they discovered a ship that had sunk just recently. They saw a young man who had survived by holding on to a floating piece of wood. As they needed a new king, they picked up the young man and took him to their country. They requested him to be the king for a year. First he refused but later he agreed to be the king. People told him about all the rules and regulations and that how he will be sent to an island after one year.
After three days of being a king, he asked the ministers if they could show him the island where all the other kings were sent. They agreed and took him to the island. The island was covered with thick Jungles and sounds of vicious animals were heard coming out of them. The king went inside the island to check. He discovered the dead bodies of all the past kings. He understood that as soon as they were left in the island, the animals came and killed them.
The king went back to the country and collected 100 strong workers. He took them to the island and instructed them to clean the jungle, remove all the deadly animals and cut down all excess trees. He would visit the island every month to see how the work was progressing. In the first month, all the animals were removed and many trees were cut down. In the second month, the whole island was cleaned out. The king then told the workers to plant gardens in various parts of the island. He also took with him useful animals like chickens, ducks, birds, goats, and cows. In the third month, he ordered the workers to build big houses and docking stations for ships. Over the months, the island was turned into a beautiful place.
Three more months passed and now a full year was completed. The people dressed up the young king and put him on an elephant and took him around the country to say goodbye to his subjects. However, this king was unusually happy to leave the kingdom.
The people asked him, “All the other kings would cry at this moment of departure for the remote island. But you are laughing. Why are you laughing?”
He replied, “Don’t you know what the wise people say? They say that when you came to this world as a baby, you were crying and everyone was smiling. Live such a life that when you leave this world, you will be smiling and everyone around you will be crying. I have lived that kind of life. While all the other kings were lost in their pleasures and the luxuries of the kingdom, I always thought about the future and planned for it. I turned the terrible island of exile into a beautiful abode where I can live happily and at peace.”
The moral of this story is about how we should live our life. Our life of this world is to prepare for the life hereafter. In this life, we shouldn’t get lost in the things of this world and forget about what is to come after death.
Rather, even if we are kings, we should live a simple and generous life for the benefit of those around us. A man’s life only has value if it is lived for others.
Filed under: india | Tagged: death, fear of death, hindu, hinduism, life, om, purpose of life, religion, yoga | Leave a comment »
