This story was related to me, and because it sounded really good, I thought I must share it.
There was an old flower farmer, who was very simple, obedient, and a truly God- conscious man. Every morning after he prayed, he would take some flowers to the King. In ancient times, Kings were actually revered as Gods.
The farmer’s daily offering of flowers, didn’t go unnoticed by the King, and he then summoned his minister, and decided to play a trick on the unsuspecting farmer.
The next day when the farmer arrived, the minister said to the farmer that the King was really happy, and had thus rewarded him with a box of rotten apples. This practice of the King and his minister went on for almost a month. However, the farmer did not stop this offering of flowers to the King, totally unaffected by the King’s cruel gesture.
The King was annoyed and couldn’t understand why his trick was not able to crush the farmer’s spirit and self composure. The King then summoned the farmer to his court, and said to him : “ My dear Farmer, I have observed you for a month, and have persisted with my reward of a box of rotten apples, yet you appear happy and unaffected. I have not been able to break your spirit. What’s your secret, dear Farmer?”
The Farmer replied : “ You gave me what your heart dictated. When you are content with your reward, then nothing really matters, my Lord.”
I removed all the seeds from the rotten apples, and I planted them. I now have a flowering apple orchard. Each apple had approximately 10 seeds, and there were 100 of apples in each box, so with those thousands of seeds for a month, I was able to produce a hundred apples from just a single tree. So my Lord, my apple orchard actually belongs to you.”
The King had no words, and he and his minister were utterly embarrassed and ashamed of what they had done to the farmer.
He learnt a dear lesson indeed…..
The key to happiness lay in the simple kindness of thoughts, words and deeds. Humility and simplicity is priceless!
Aum Sai Ram.
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