Value of Patience - story

There lived once a miser king. He grew old but he could not relinquish his throne because he thought that his son would come and spend all his hard earned money. He could not give away his only daughter in marriage as marriage would cost him a lot of money. In this way that kingdom was run. One day two very famous dancers, husband and wife, came to visit that kingdom. Then all the subjects requested that king to ask the dancers to provide a night of entertainment to them. The king was afraid that it would cost him a lot of money and hence initially he did not agree. But he was also aware of the discontent of the people and their wrath that he would earn. He also thought about the reputation of the kingdom if it did not extend its hospitality to those famous dancers. He consulted his ministers and they assured him that he need not have to spend any money. The dancers were invited to the court and the entertainment began. It started in the evening and lasted throughout the night. Towards the end the danseuse began to feel very dejected. She had danced for very long hours and yet she did not get any reward. Her husband, the dancer, sensed her despondence and told her as if singing, “Do not abandon your hope, oh my beloved. Though the greater portion of the night has passed, only a small part remains and with it remains a faint hope. Mind your steps, do not lose hope.”

After this a wonderful thing happened. So far nobody had given anything to the dancers, taking a cue from the king. If any of the subjects had given anything the king would also have to contribute. Now suddenly a monk threw his rug to the dancers. Then the crown prince gave away his golden bangles to the dancers. Then the princess gave her necklace.

The king was astonished. He first asked the monk as to why he gave up his rug after listening to the programme all night. The monk said, “this dancer has taught me a wonderful lesson. The moment he said that do not abandon hope, a small part remains of the night, I realized that how very true it is in my context. I had given up householder life when I was young. But as a monk I got nothing. So I decided to return to the life of a householder once again. But this song made me realize that I have already spent a considerable amount of my life in the hope of arriving at supreme peace. Only a small portion of my life remains. Why give it up now when it is possible that in the end I’ll get what I want. I therefore congratulated him and reinforced my will to continue as a monk by renunciation of my only possession, the rug. “

The king then turned to the crown prince and said, “and what prompted you to give up your bangles?”

The prince said, “I consider myself today as most fortunate. Since you had not abdicated the throne, I had almost firmed up my mind to kill you and get the throne forcefully for myself. However that song made me realize that you are old, your days are anyway numbered. A greater part of the life has already passed, only a few years are there. Why should I earn the infamy of killing my own father when the throne will anyway be mine in a few years. The moment I realized this, I considered that dancer to be my guru and gave him a gift as a token of my respect for the guru.”

The king was ashamed. He turned his glance to his daughter. She said, “I wanted to marry, but since, father, you had no intention of marrying me off, I decided to try my luck by leaving your kingdom and the palace, to find my prince charming on my own. But after hearing this song I realized that it would have been a major folly. You are old and anyway will die in a few years. If I have waited for so long for a husband I can wait for a few more years. But if I leave the palace I’ll only bring disrepute on myself and my family and perhaps will get nobody to marry me. So out of gratitude I gave that priceless necklace to the dancer.”

The king now realized his own mistake. He abdicated his throne to his son, married his daughter to a good husband and gave away his wealth to the poor and needy. He of course compensated the dancers beyond their expectations.

The virtue of patience is incomparable. When you’ve waited for so long for a prized possession, when you have tried so hard for it, why give up that attempt just because things did not work so far. The greater part of the night has passed, but few hours are still left and who knows what reward is awaiting you.

But is such a hope, faith and optimism always good?