Do we recognize ourselves for what we truly are?
The son of an emperor had become spoilt. He had fallen in the wrong company. The father was upset. One day the father became very angry and in a fit of rage he said to the son, "You will be thrown out of the palace. Either rectify yourself or leave my palace."
The emperor had not thought that the prince would actually leave the palace. But the prince left the palace in his fury.
The emperor's son was as stubborn as emperor. The father searched a lot, but could not find him. Years passed by. The old father's eyes had blurred now, as he wept so much. He had only one son. The entire empire was for him. The father used to repent a lot, that in what unfortunate moment did I uttere such words that I will throw you out!
Nearly 20 years passed waiting like this.
One day a beggar was begging outside the emperor's palace. The king looked at him, and he felt that it was a familiar face. The old father's heart immediately recognized him. There was light in his eyes again. His heart said, "This is my son!!"
But in twenty years, the son had completely forgotten that he was the son of the emperor. Who will not forget that in twenty years of poverty! For twenty years, he went from door to door, village to village asking for pieces of bread. Twenty years of beggary! The layers piled up over and over, and he forgot that he was once the son of the emperor.
To go from place to place and be reprimanded everywhere; people behaving badly; being told at every door, "move ahead” – if the inner emperor had remained aware, he would have pulled out the sword. So the inner emperor had to fade away, he had to be forgotten. That was the right thing, it was practical to forget about him. And how could he remember? When twenty-four hours he was being reminded of only one thing from all sides, that you are a beggar. No one allowed him to stay at the door, no one let him sit under a tree, no one let him stay – “Take the bread, and move ahead” – hardly he would get some bread.
Broken pot! Torn clothes! Couldn't even buy new clothes in twenty years. His body smelled foul. Forgotten were the days - of fragrance, of the palace, of pride, of comfort, of glory and dignity. They were all forgotten. Twenty years of dust settled so much on the mirror that now no image could be formed in the mirror.
So the son did not know anything, he came to this village begging in the same way as he had gone to other villages. This too is a village like other villages. But when the father's eyes saw him, he recognized that this was his son.
The features, the face are all recognizable. No matter how much dust settles, the eyes of the parents cannot be deceived. The son may forget, but the father cannot. The original source cannot forget.
Seeing this condition of the son, the king seemed to go numb and lifeless. He called his vizier and asked, "What should I do?" The vizier said, "Be careful and act wisely. If at once you say that you are a prince, then it will be so big for him that he will not believe it. He will doubt you. So you have to move slowly. He has really forgotten everything, otherwise he would not even have come to this door to beg. He doesn't remember anything."
When the emperor called him inside the palace, he started running outside the palace. When the servant ran after him, he said, "No brother, I don't want go inside. Leave me, I am a poor man. It was a mistake that I came to the palace, to the king's court. I just beg. I don't need to go inside."
He was so scared that he thought that he might get punished, that he might get jailed, he did not know what problems would arise if he went inside. But the servants explained that the master wants to give you a job, he feels pitiful. So he went inside. The king hired him for sweeping there.
Then gradually when he started doing sweeping and getting a little familiar with the palace, then he was promoted a little, and then later a little more promotion was done. Then he started coming inside the palace as well. Soon his clothes were also changed. Then he was also given a bath. And slowly he started agreeing.
In such a way, as the years went by, he was brought to the post of vizier. And when he came to the position of vizier, then one day the emperor called and said, "You are my son." And he agreed. Then he was convinced, since he had to climb so many stairs. This could have been said on the first day as well, but then he would not have been able to accept it!
If somebody tells us that we are God, we can't believe it. We say that it may be a matter of principle; but me and God!!! That is why it is said that meditate, be engrossed in devotion. Come on, start with the sweeping and cleaning. Although it can be done right now, but we will not agree to that. Although there is no need to lose a single moment, there is no need for gradual development. It can happen in one leap. But we do not believe, so let's do the sweeping and cleaning. So, gradually there will be promotion. And we have to progress slowly, gradually.
Then one day, when the last moment comes, we will come to the position of the vizier, when a little glimpse of samadhi starts coming near, meditation starts sparking, then in a single moment we will accept the same thing. Then we will have faith in this.
Growth, change and transformation is evolution.
