THE KARMA KING

"Every action has an equal and apposite reaction" is an universal physical law which applies not only to all physical objects but to our physical body also. Not understanding this law of nature, there once lived, a long time ago, a very arrogant and autocratic King who was so puffed up with self-importance and ego that he considered himself to be above all other people on this planet.

The king was so arrogant that his subjects were not even allowed to look at him and he ordered all his subjects to fall flat on the ground and bow down when he was present. They were not allowed to even get up until he had passed by and had to remain prostrate on the floor even while addressing him. In fact the king did not like his subjects to even talk to him and expected them to only answer his questions. Even when answering his questions they were expected to address him with prefixes such as "Oh, Lord most high! All-powerful and omnipotent, with out whom we cannot live " every sentence which they spoke to the king had to be preceded by this title.

The king not only expected his subjects to address him as they would address God but also expected that they worship him and only him. He ordered that no other God should be worshiped in his kingdom and only he should be worshiped  The learned men of the kingdom were afraid to oppose his decree and quietly left the kingdom. Only the stupid who had no other alternative remained in his kingdom and worshiped the King.

This arrogant king had many costly pastimes. One such pastime was to drive his chariot made of gold and studded with costly gems along the main thoroughfare of his capital city at breakneck speed. Twenty-four thoroughbred horses drew the chariot and no ordinary subjects were allowed to use the thoroughfare or stand on the sidewalk when the King sped by in his chariot.

Not knowing that the King had passed such a decree a blind beggar entered into the thoroughfare when the chariot came thundering by. Being used to speeding by without slowing down until they reached their destination the horses galloped majestically towards the blind beggar The lead horse on the left side hit the blind beggar a glancing blow which sent him sprawling over and prevented him from not getting caught under the wheels of the chariot. The arrogant King was in a rage and shouted at his guards to catch the blind man and bring him to his palace in chains.

The guards promptly obeyed the King and took the beggar in chains to the palace. The King was in a great fury and ranted and raved at him for having come into the path of the exalted King. The blind beggar was very calm and composed. He told the arrogant King that he could not see the chariot coming towards him since he was blind. The arrogant King was furthermore infuriated by the calm reply of the blind man. He was angry that someone could have the audacity to retort back to him. He immediately ordered that that the blind beggar should be executed at once.

The King's guards then took the Blind beggar to the palace courtyard and beheaded him. They then displayed the severed head atop a pole in front of the palace to serve as a lesson to those who dared disobey the mighty King.

Later that night the King's daughter-in-law conceived a child and the whole Kingdom celebrated the good news with great joy. As fate would have it, it was the blind mendicant who was born nine months later as the King's grandson. Not knowing this, the arrogant King loved his grandson dearly and doted upon him. The people of the country loved their young prince very much as he was kind and affectionate to all his subjects unlike his grand father. The young prince was also very wise and the people admired the manner in which he handled the disputes, which came up for hearing and settlement in the King's court.

Time passed by, and the old arrogant King began to wither away and ultimately died.

The young prince was then crowned King. There was great rejoicing in the country. The people were happy that their new King was a much better person than their former arrogant and egoistical King.

As fate would once again have it, the arrogant King was reborn as a poor blind child to parents who were wandering beggars. Time passed and the blind child grew up into adulthood and became a wandering mendicant.

Meanwhile, the young prince who was crowned King spent his time in prayer and meditation. He soon understood the futility of all worldly pursuits and came to realize his evolution through many previous births. One day the King who had by now become considerably old drove his chariot along the same thoroughfare where his Grandfather had collided with the former blind beggar. While driving his chariot at a very rapid pace,  he found  the blind mendicant who was formerly the arrogant King in his previous birth stepping out on to the Highway and before the King could control the horses the blind mendicant was knocked down and thrown some distance away. The King pulled at the reins and brought his chariot to a halt. The King was infuriated at the blind mendicant for having caused him to slow down.

However, the king paused for a moment and closed his eyes. He thought to himself and wondered why he was unnecessarily becoming angry due to such a small incident. He then realized it was Karma which was drawing him into it's vicious cycle by making him angry at the poor blind mendicant. He also realized that the poor blind mendicant was none other than his arrogant Grandfather and rushed towards him. He lifted up the blind mendicant and wished him with palms pressed together in front of him. The King then hugged the blind mendicant who was rather taken aback for he had expected the King to be angry with him and order his guards to behead him. He had not expected the King to treat him so warmly and with such respect.

At that moment a disembodied voice thundered from the clouds, "Oh wise King! You have been released from the vicious cycle of your Karma. You were sent into this world as a test and you have successfully passed the test. Due to your goodness your arrogant Grand father who is now before you as a blind mendicant has also been liberated from all his past sins. Both of you will now attain Moksha and need not be reborn again".

At that moment a veil was lifted from the eyes of the blind mendicant and his eyesight was restored to him. Both the King and the mendicant were overjoyed at the turn of events and the King took the mendicant back to the palace where he was treated with all pomp and honour due to a King. The King and the mendicant then lived together happily ever after until they left this world at a ripe old age. The people of the Kingdom considered themselves to be truly blessed, to have been ruled by such a noble King and his wise mendicant.

(This was just a short story that I told my kids long ago when I wanted to explain the concept of Karma to them and thought that those of you who may be interested could also read it. Those of you don't believe in Karma or Rebirth are kindly requested to ignore this blog.)