I am feeling very wise all of a sudden. So I am going to share with you a story I had picked up a few years ago when I actually used to read and think about what I had read and share those thoughts with people. You know.... before I got a laptop, and DC and gtalk had come into my life.... Yes, right.... very very long ago....
Once upon a time in a land far far away (:P) there lived a very learned and rich old king. He was frequently consulted by his subjects for all their problems, and he always obliged.
A young man who was about to set sail to faraway lands in search of treasure, came to him for his blessings. The king decided to teach him an important lesson and entrusted him with a simple task. He gave the young man a spoonful of sacred oil and asked him to walk around the palace while guarding it carefully for the next two hours, such as to not spill even a drop. The young man walked around with the spoon with unwavering attention, never looking away from it once. He returned to the king at the end of two hours.
The king admired his diligence. Indeed, he had fully applied himself to his task! But had the young man explored the beautiful palace with it's sparkling chandeliers, huge fountains, lush green gardens and exotic flowers? He hadn't, as he had been too busy with his task. So the king asked him to look around every nook and cranny and come back whenever he was done. The young man was mesmerized. Never had he seen such a beautiful place! He felt like a child on an unexpected treat. After many hours, he returned to the king and excitedly told him how lovely the tour had been. The old man was amused, and pointed out that the spoon was empty.
Such an important lesson, so unforgettably put.
It's so important to explore the palace and also so important to guard the spoon. Perhaps it would be fine if we spilled a few drops, and didn't really discover every secret the palace held.... as long as we did them both. But we usually go through life after having chosen either of the two....
I always appreciate teaching the golden lessons of life through fables and parables, and here you have done the job so magnificently!! I find it difficult to say who the more wonderful is- the story or the story-teller!! Hats off to both.. :):):)
ReplyDeleteI would like to make only one small suggestion. I think it will be better not to bring any analysis in between a story, like you said, "But had the young man explored... No, he hadn't". Let the story get over first and then draw the conclusions yourself. In between, let the readers think about it. This will make the narration much more interesting to them because of the involvement.
Still, this post is really awesome! Keep it up!
lets analyse it then.
ReplyDeleteThere are three choices, 1. to complete the task, 2. to enjoy the palace, 3 to do both
the third one has a flavor of enjoyment, attraction, doing with fun, lighting candle in darkest night and playing antakshari.
These are all choices, none of them are good or bad, they just are. and the outcome makes the story. If the outcome is success any choice will be appreciated, which is human tendency (also not criticized to be good or bad), and if failure perhaps the story will vanish with time or will become an example of failure but in no case the choices would be wrong, it will be the outcome deciding the future of story. isnt it?