Spiritual (Story) Message for the Day – Parable of The King’s Dream by Sri Swami Sivananada
Baba Times Digest© | 4 February 2015 21.57 EST | New York Edition
Parable of The King’s Dream
Divine Life Society Publication: Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda
A king went to bed in his palace, which was guarded on all sides by sentries. Not even a fly could enter it and disturb the king. The bed-room was equipped with every kind of comfort and there was nothing lacking which enabled the monarch to enjoy the bliss of deep sleep.
Soon after he lay down he had a dream. A jackal had somehow entered the palace, attacked him and had bitten a toe of his left foot. In the meantime he hears the news that enemies have entered his kingdom and taken possession of all things. He flees in fear; but the toe gives him great pain. He runs to a doctor for medical aid. The doctor refuses to treat him as, though he was a king, he had no money to pay for the doctor's fees on the spot, for he had lost his kingdom. As a mendicant he runs away to the forest. There he finds a Mahatma who heals the wounds. Gratitude to the Mahatma wells up in the heart of the ruler, then he wakes up.
The dream vanishes. The king is still lying on his golden bed in the palace which not even a fly could enter. He finds that there is neither the jackal, nor the wound nor his running away to the forest. But the Mahatma's grace endures in his mind, and he, though it was all a dream and he has realised it, for ever cherishes the memory of the holy man's healing service and derives inspiration from it.
Similarly, the Jiva is truly the Supreme Monarch of the Universe. There is nothing lacking in it and it is in possession of supreme bliss- it is bliss itself. Yet, when the veil of ignorance is thrown over it, it dreams. In that dream the jackal of egoism bites it. The enemies of the senses overpower it. The happiness that it so long enjoyed is gone; it experiences pain and misery. It runs here and there in search of relief from misery and in search of happiness. Everyone in the world is selfish. Unless there is immediate benefit from it, no one is prepared to give it even a cup of water. Disgusted with the ways of the world, it runs to the forest-to the lotus-feet of the Sat-Guru. The Guru heals its wounds and awakens its higher soul-consciousness. The awakened soul perceives everything that happened as nothing but a long dream. Gratitude to the Sat-Guru who healed the Jiva of the dire malady of birth-and-death, alone remains. The Guru's Upadesa and his Grace alone endure when all else that was part of the dream vanishes. The awakened soul once again feels that it is the Supreme Monarch of the Universe, that nothing ever happened to its majesty, that there was no ignorance and no egoism, and that from eternity to eternity it continues to be the self-same Self-all-blissful, peaceful and immortal.
Excerpts from: Parable of The King’s Dream - Parables of Sivananda by Sri Swami Sivananda
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