Teaching story A royal disciple

Teaching story A royal disciple

November 2017

Royal disciple

Just and benevolent king Shursen wanted to learn spirituality. He ordered his minister to honour the supreme spiritual guru in his kingdom and bring him to the palace. The minister informed him that Atmanand Maharaj, an enlightened sage, lived nearby but it was doubtful if he would come to meet the king. King Shursen ordered the minister to go to the sage and convince him to come to the palace. The minister did as told. But the sage disagreed, saying, “If the king is really yearning to learn spirituality, ask him to meet me in my hut.” The minister conveyed this message to the king who agreed and set out to meet the sage. The sage was sitting inside his hutthe door of which was just four feet high. The king waited to be welcomed by the sage but along with his minister had to eventually had to bow down to enter the hut.The sage then stood up to welcome them. He gave them fresh fruits to eat and without wasting any time, he started the lesson. Pleased with the guru's darshan, the king said, “I had asked my minister to make all the arrangements to bring you to the palace with great honour. Yet, why did you call me here?” The sage said, “You came to my hut leaving behind your pride. And after coming to my hut you bowed down to enter the door. It was your first lesson in spirituality. You have passed the test. I will come to your palace from tomorrow.”