As soon as the sage came near the palace he said "Wow, what a beautiful masterpiece. I feel like looking at the architecture the whole day." The emperor later took him to the dining hall. The sage tasted the varieties of sweets, exotic cooked meat, fruits and said "Yummy, can i have some more..."
Later the emperor took the sage to view dancing girls. The sage could not take his eyes of the girls. He adored their beauty and tapped his feet.
The emperor had been observing the sage all along. He was puzzled about the worldly pursuit the sage was interested and involved in. So he asked the sage, " You call yourself a sage. And you were popular for your renounced life and meaningful messages. But now i see you basking in the glory of pleasures..."
The sage looked at the emperor for sometime and said "Can you take me to the jungle where i came from??". The emperor and the sage reach the border between the city and the jungle. The sage tells the emperor, "Now, come with me into the jungle and let's start living in the woods."
The emperor gets a heart attack. He says "I cannot leave my palace, post, power, and luxury." The sage smiles and said "That is the difference between You and Me. I can renounce the worldly life anytime and return to a peaceful and happy living. But you cannot give up your post, glamour, and vices and live in the jungle."
The emperor got the message. He touched the feet of the sage and the sage walked into the woods in peace.
Note: The above story is a translated version of a story published in a popular Tamil magazine.
What a life for these so called sages!!!Poor sage.The king should have at the end of the story built a room inside the palace for the sage to sit down and stay there.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...Or the king could have done a PODcast of the activities in the kingdom to the sage.
ReplyDelete- Beans