One day a great King sent his representative to Balananda to invite him to
come to the King’s palace. Balananda said to the King’s representative, “Well,
you are coming from one King to another. You must know that I am also a King—in
the inner world. Since one King is inviting another King, I feel that I must
go. But first I wish to tell you a story.”<br>
<br>
Balananda asked his disciples who were nearby to come and sit in front of
him, as he was going to tell a significant story: Once there was a great
spiritual Master who used to meditate for days on end without eating or drinking
anything. It happened that on one occasion he got an inner urge to meditate
for three days sitting in the middle of a public road. On the second day
of his austere discipline, he heard a very loud noise. He opened his eyes
and he saw that a big procession honouring a certain King was coming down
the road, heading towards him. Three of the King’s guards came rushing up
to him and said, “Look, look, the King will soon pass by. Leave way for him.
Move aside and leave the road free.”<br>
<br>
The Master said, “Who?”<br>
<br>
“The King himself!” the guards replied.<br>
<br>
The Master said, “Don’t bother me. I am also a King.”<br>
<br>
The guards threatened him, “We will strike you!”<br>
<br>
He said, “How dare you touch me! Just try!” Then the guards looked at his
eyes and saw that they were emitting fire. They got frightened and ran to
narrate the story to their King.<br>
<br>
After he heard the story, the King went up to the Master and said in a mocking
manner, “O saint, I understand that you are another King. Please tell me
how many soldiers you have.”<br>
<br>
The spiritual man said, “I don’t have any soldiers—not even one.”<br>
<br>
“How can you be a King without any soldiers?” the King asked.<br>
<br>
The saint replied, “I have no enemy to fight against. Why do I need any soldiers?”<br>
<br>
Then the King asked, “Tell me, please, where is your house? Where do you
live?”<br>
<br>
He answered, “The whole world is my house. Why do I need a particular house?
All the houses in God’s creation belong to me, for God is my Father, my only
Father. The father’s house the son can legitimately claim. So all the houses
of this world are mine. I don’t need any special house to live in.”<br>
<br>
The King now realised that this man was not an ordinary human being. He fell
down at the feet of the spiritual Master and begged him for forgiveness.
The Master immediately granted him forgiveness and, with a smiling face,
moved away from where he had been seated in the middle of the road so that
the King’s procession could freely move on to its destination.<br>
<br>
After hearing the story the King’s representative got the point. He was very
embarrassed and went and told his King the story. The King was also embarrassed.
He went running to Balananda to beg him for forgiveness, and then asked him
to initiate him.<br>
<br>
After Balananda had initiated him, the King said, “Please tell me how I can
rule my kingdom. I am always assailed by fear, doubt, anxiety and worry.”<br>
<br>
Balananda said, “It is very easy. From now on, let all your possessions remain
with you, but feel that they are not yours. They belong to God. God is the
sole owner of all the things that you claim to be yours; you are only His
manager. He has asked you to manage these things on His behalf, but He is
the real owner. You are the false owner. Since the real owner always takes
care of His own property, the false owner must surrender to His Will. Pray
to God to make you an unconditional instrument of His. In that way you will
never be assailed by fear, worry, anxiety and doubt; you will be only a dear
instrument of His.”<br>
<br>
Sri Chinmoy&nbsp;