Once, an emperor became very intrigued by a sage. The emperor used to ride around the kingdom on horseback at night, and would notice that sage every night. That sage used to sit under a tree and would be lost in his own world, sometimes playing the flute, sometimes dancing, sometimes humming a song, and sometimes, he would sit quietly and watch the stars in the sky.
When the emperor rode out on horseback, he used to stop there to watch him. He would watch the sage enjoying himself for some time and then leave quietly. Gradually, he started getting so engrossed in watching that sage, that he would not even realize how much time had passed looking at him. The emperor would stand behind a bush and watch the sage having fun in silence. He was so lost in watching this fun, that he would himself return home entertained and refreshed. This had become a daily routine.
One day, the emperor got overwhelmed to the point that he fell at the feet of the sage and said, "O Dear Sage, I won't let you stay here any longer. Monsoon is approaching, and this tree will not provide you protection from the rains. Please do me a favour, come with me to my palace and stay there. Give me a chance to serve you"
The sage immediately stood up, picked up his small bag, and said, "let's go." Seeing this, the emperor went into a state of shock. He had thought that the sage would resist and say - which palace, what kind of palace, I am happy where I am. I don't want to go to any palace. I have long given up palaces and amenities... the emperor was expecting to hear all this from the sage. If the sage had said that, the emperor would have fallen at his feet and requested some more. But the sage immediately got up and agreed to go along, so he was a bit shocked.
The emperor wondered whether he had made a mistake.. Whether this man had tricked him.. Was it a trick to enter the palace..? Maybe it was all a trap...and he had fallen for it unnecessarily. The emperor was still thinking all this, and in the meantime, the sage was up on the emperor's horse and called out to him to start. For the first time in his life, the emperor had to walk on door, as the sage rode on the horse with great pleasure. Now the seeds of doubt started growing in the emperor's mind, but he could not turn back from his words. He was bound by his words now. But there was no respect left for the sage in his heart.
The sage lived in the palace in much the same way as he did under the tree. He used to play the flute under the tree, and even after he arrived at the palace, he would play the flute, but now, he would do it sitting on a velvet mattress. The emperor was getting very bothered seeing all this. He started thinking, who have I brought here, this person is not really a sage! He lives more leisurely than the emperor himself. The emperor even has to worry about taking care of his empire, his palace, his wealth, and everyone's needs, but the sage has no worries about any of these things. He plays the flute for his own amusement, sings, dances, and eats in merriment.
For six months, the emperor stayed quiet, but now the matter was beyond his ability to tolerate. One day, the emperor asked the sage, "O Sage, I am curious as to *what is the difference between the two of us now?"* The sage said, "Want to know the difference?" The emperor replied, "Yes, sir."
The sage said, "Why did you trouble yourself for 6 months? You should have asked this when I climbed on to the horse, because I saw it had arisen in your mind that time itself. I remember your face when I picked up my bag and agreed to come along with you. This question was in your mind then too. Why did you foolishly bother yourself for 6 months? If you had asked then, I would have put my bag down and sat there again. You did not ask, what was holding you back? I was waiting for you to ask me. Alright, I will tell you the difference tomorrow morning. But yes, I will tell you outside the village."
The emperor was curious to find out what the difference was. He thought, the sage eats the same food that I eat. He lives in a more beautiful room than mine. I can accomplish most of the work with two or three servants whereas he gets fifteen to twenty servants to carry out the work for him. His needs are unending. He wears great clothes. He himself seems to be the emperor of the palace. At least, the rest of the palace is afraid of me. But there is no fear in his eyes. He just plays the flute the whole day without stopping. Now let's see what difference does he point out. The emperor could not sleep that whole night, so he woke up early the next day and went to the sage.
When he went to his room, he saw that the sage was wearing the same old clothes he used wear to sit under the tree. He held his bag in one hand and the flute in the other. He stood ready when the emperor said, "Come on, my lord." After that, they left the palace. On their way, they crossed the river of the village. A short while later, they left the village.
The emperor asked, "How much more do we have to walk." The sage replied, "Just a little bit more." They had started in the morning, and it was noon now as they walked. The emperor said, "I will not go ahead with you anymore. Whatever you want to say, say it here." The sage replied, "I am going further. Are you walking or not?" The emperor said, "How can I walk when my palace, my wife, my children, and my wealth are all left behind. I am not a fakir like you who doesn't care about anything."
The sage replied, "That's the only difference between you and me. I can go anywhere, and you can't. I can be happy in any situation, but you can't. Even when I lived under a tree, I lived happily and enjoyed every moment of my life. Whether I was at the palace or anywhere else, I lived every minute fully, with fun and happiness. And now even if I go somewhere else, I would still live the same way. I am all the same no matter where I live. I don't regret the past, nor worry about the future. I just live in the present because I know that life is about being in the present moment. There is a small difference between you and me. *You run according to the circumstances and I run the circumstances.* Whether you'll be happy or sad depends on the events that happen around you. For me, these events are just part of the journey of life."
Suddenly, the emperor realized that what have I done, I did not recognize such a wonderful man. I couldn't even sit with him and listen to him while he was with me for six months, because I thought that he was a hypocrite.
In an instant, the emperor grabbed the sage's feet and said, "No sir, I won't let you go now!" The sage replied, "Look, I have no problem. I will return to your palace again, but it will trouble you." The emperor was again struck by the same thought and this sage consented to go again. When the sage looked at the emperor's face carefully, he said, "But I will not come now because again, you will not improve. You will again be in trouble and remain worried. For me, it makes no difference! I am a sage. For me, the palace and the forest are all alike. I don't have any problems because the person who has problems is not a sage. Just as my flute used to play in the palace, so too would it play in the forest and it will continue to do so everywhere." With these words the sage left from there, and the emperor kept watching the sage leaving.
Friends, there is a deeper meaning to this story. We think we are living a life of freedom, but in reality we are being controlled by our subconscious minds. We are slaves of our subconscious minds. The sage was actually running his mind and we are being run by our minds.
