Fear of Death
There was once a Raja, who had transferred all responsibility of
ruling to his Manthri, and who was spending his time in ease. He never
worried about anything, be it big or small. He had a personal
companion, whom he had always by his side, more or less as a bodyguard.
This fellow was very wise, for he never did anything without deep
deliberation, about the how and the why and the wherefore. The Raja
took all this deliberation to be just foolishness and he nicknamed the
companion, "Avivekasikhamani" or "The Crest-Jewel of Fools". He went
to the length of actually engraving the title on a plate of gold and
compelling him to wear it on his forehead for all to see! Many people
were mislead by this and they took him to be an ignoramus at court;
they did not heed his words.
Meanwhile, the Raja fell ill and took to bed. The kingdom was combed for physicians who could heal the king. Messengers went to the eight corners, seeking drugs and doctors. Hundred were busy round the royal patient, but, all efforts failed; the illness worsened day by day. The Raja was at the very door of Death.
Meanwhile, the Raja fell ill and took to bed. The kingdom was combed for physicians who could heal the king. Messengers went to the eight corners, seeking drugs and doctors. Hundred were busy round the royal patient, but, all efforts failed; the illness worsened day by day. The Raja was at the very door of Death.
The Raja suspected that his end was near; so he hurriedly made some
dispositions, spoke to all those whom he wanted to meet, and was
immersed in sorrow. He had no thought of God or any other auspicious
Power. He was in terrible fear of Death and could not think of
anything else.
One day, he called Avivekasikhamani to his bedside and whispered
feebly in his ear, "Well; I am going soon, my friend!" Then, the Fool
asked without any compunction, "What? You are weak and cannot walk a
few steps; I shall order a palanquin, please wait till it is ready."
"No palanquin can take me there," said the Raja. "Then, I shall order
a chariot," entreated the Fool. "The chariot too is of no use,"
replied the Raja. "Of course, then, the horse is the only means of
journey," wailed the companion, who seemed eager to come to the rescue
of his master, and spare him the toils of travel. The Raja said that
the horse too could not enter there. The Fool was at his wit's end.
Then suddenly an idea struck him, he said, "Come on master! I shall
carry you there." The Raja became sad; he said, "My dear friend, one
has to go alone to that place, when one's time has come. No companion
can be taken." The Fool was thrown in great doubt; he asked the Raja,
"It is curious, is it not? You say that the palanquin won't reach
there, that the chariot can't go there, nor the horse; you say that no
second person can join you! Well can't you tell me at least where that
place is?" The Raja replied, "I do not know."
Immediately, the Fool unwound the Golden Plate with the engraving of
the title, 'Avivekasikhamani', and tied it round the brow of the Raja,
saying "Raja! You know so much about the place, even, which things
cannot go there, but, you do not know where it is, and still you are
going there soon. O, you deserve this title much more." The Raja was
overcome with shame. "Alas," he said to himself, "I wasted my years in
eating and sleeping and pursuing pleasures, never caring to inquire
who I am, whence I came, what I am doing, whither I am going, and why
I came. The precious time allotted to me has come very near its end.
There is no time for me any more for all that inquiry. Death is
knocking at the door; children have started weeping; my subjects are
in great anxiety. Can I, under such conditions immerse myself in
inquiry? Can a thought that I never entertained throughout my life
suddenly arise now, during my last moments? It is impossible. Yes, I
deserve the title, Avivekasikhamani more than anyone else, for I
wasted my life in useless pursuits; without any thought of the Reality."
The Raja let it be proclaimed that Inquiry is the best means of
knowing the Truth, that the inquiry must be directed to separating the
true from the untrue, the eternal from the temporary, that people
should arrive at the conclusion that, 'God is the only true and
eternal Entity' and that by their own independent investigation, his
subjects must not only grasp the entity intellectually but must also
attain the Grace of God, by their pure lives. Announcing this lesson
to his subjects, the Raja breathed his last.
Category: Chinna Katha, Sai Love
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