The King's True Wealth

Once upon a time, there was a king who was prosperous in every way. Besides being wealthy, he had many queens, sons, and grandsons.

The king would conquer every kingdom he approached with all his might.

When the king's procession passed through the city, all the people, whether poor or rich, would stand with their heads bowed in respect.

The king would also proudly glance at each one.

Everyone would stand in fear, fearing that the king might order someone's head beheaded in anger.

Only one man, who looked like a madman, would never stand in respect for the king. He would always mutter something or the other.

When the king's procession passed, he would see the king and loudly declare, "The king is the poorest of all. The king is the biggest fool."

The king's ministers would tell the king, "This is a mad man. Don't pay any attention to him."

The king would get very angry, but he would suppress his anger.

One day, the king's procession came out again. Everyone was standing in his honor. The king was looking around with great pride.

Just then, the mad man, sitting down, shouted, "The king is the biggest fool. He is the poorest of all." The king became furious and picked up a small stick lying near him and threw it at the madman.

The stick grazed the madman and went away. The king's ministers stopped him and said, "This is a mad man. Don't pay attention to him, and it's not right to punish him."

Some time passed and one day, the king fell very ill. Word spread throughout the city that it was very difficult for the king to survive.

All the people of the city began coming to meet the king. One day, the mad man thought, "The king is nearing his end. I should also go and meet the king."

The mad man also met the king. Today, the king was not at all angry at seeing him.

He made the mad man sit with great love.

The mad man said to the king, "I have found out."  You are about to go to God.

The king said, "It seems so. My time is near."

The mad man said to the king, "When you go to God, take this small stick with you."

The king became angry again. He said, "You fool! There is nothing that can be taken with us when we die."

The mad man said, "Is there nothing that can go with us when we die? You are the king. Think about it. There must be something that can go with us when we die."

The king thought deeply and said, "Only the name of God accompanies us when we die."

The mad man said, "So, King, you must have collected a lot of God's names and chanted them a lot."

The king said, "I have forgotten to chant God's name my entire life. I have never meditated on God's name.

I conquered most of the kingdoms. I married many times."  You amassed a lot of wealth, but never took God's name.

The mad man said, "That's why I called you the most foolish person. The poorest person.

You married so many queens. You had sons, grandsons, and so on.

When you die, these queens will purify the entire palace. To ensure that your soul doesn't accidentally come here.

The day you, out of attachment, come to meet any of them, they'll all be screaming and shouting. They'll use thousands of methods to ensure that you're never seen after your death.

Even this palace, the wealth you've amassed, your family will try. They'll use such intense methods that your soul won't even set foot on the threshold.

And the wealth that was supposed to go with you, you didn't even collect it. That's why I called you the poorest.

Now tell me, am I mad or are you mad?

The king said, "I haven't meditated on the name of the Lord all my life, so I can't meditate now. Because I don't have the habit of meditating."

And after saying this, the king breathed his last.

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