Once upon a time there was a king who hurt his finger. The condition of the finger kept getting worse and ultimately it had to be amputated. Everyone in the King’s court offered condolences to the king but his Vazir (minister) kept quiet. This Vazir was a very God-fearing and God-loving person. There were some in the court who were jealous of the Vazir and they complained to the king about lack of sympathy from Vazir for the king.

The king, as most kings are, was fond of obsequiousness or sycophancy and the courtiers knew this. They were bending over backwards offering the best words of sympathy. The king got a bit upset when he noticed that his Vazir was quiet. He asked him if he did not feel sympathy for the king as he had lost his finger. The Vazir said that while he did feel compassion for him but he was convinced that whatever God does is for the good.

The king was very upset when he heard this and thought of punishing the Vazir. In a few days, the king had planned a hunting expedition. The courtiers including the Vazir went along with the king. The king and the Vazir lost their way and got separated from rest of the batch. As both of them were travelling in the midst of the forest the king noticed a well. He ordered the Vazir to got off his horse and stand by the well. The king took his sword and placing his own sword on the neck of the Vazir declared that he was going to throw him in the well. Before throwing him in the well, the king asked him, “So Vazir, do you still believe that whatever God does is for the good?”.

The Vazir was a Dharmi person and replied with conviction, “Yes Maharaj, I still believe that whatever God does is good.”

The king was furious and pushed the Vazir in the well. Satisfied with the punishment he had inflicted on his Vazir, the king headed towards his kingdom. On his way, he was surrounded by a group of tribesmen and made a prisoner. Actually, this tribe believed in sacrificing humans to its deity and today was an auspicious day to carry out such sacrifice. The tribesmen were on the look for a human to sacrifice and when they found the king, they were very glad.

The hands and feet of the king were tied with a rope and he was brought in the temple of the deity they worshipped. The priest was asked to prepare for the sacrifice. The king pleaded with them to release him but to no avail. The king told them that he was a king and this made them even happier because sacrificing a king would please the deity even more. Now the king was sure that his death was eminent. He regretted pushing the innocent Vazir in the well and now he really sought forgiveness for his evil act. He thought that if he was to get another chance in life, he would surely pull out the Vazir from the well and compensate for his actions by rewarding him.

The priest removed the clothes of the king to check if his body was healthy and complete. When he checked his fingers, he noticed that one of them was missing as it had been amputated. The priest rejected the king as a candidate suitable for an offering to the deity because he was missing a finger. He ordered the tribe to release the king as he could not be sacrificed.

The king was released and he went straight to the well, where he had pushed the Vazir. The Vazir was still alive. He pulled him out and sought forgiveness from him.

Now the king addressed the vazir, “O noble Vazir, I now understand that the Will of God is always good. I realize that whatever God does is for good. If my finger had not been amputated, I would have lost my life today. I was saved because my finger was missing. But I don’t understand how throwing you in the well was good for you.”

“Listen O dear King. If you had not pushed me into the well, I would have been caught along with you and the tribesmen would have sacrificed me after your disqualification from getting sacrificed to their deity. I must have had some previous life bad Karma and to pay for this Karmic debt, God had me pushed in the well and you alone were caught. This way my Karmic debt was paid off and my life too was saved. You too learned some valuable lessons from this adventure.”

The king was surprised hearing the answer and his faith in God increased manifold.

Bhul Chuk dee maafi jee.

Kulbir Singh