Story of the King and the Saint

Once, a saintly person wanted to meet with the king. The king informed the saintly person that he, unfortunately, did not have time to see him and that he should please return in a week. When the saintly person came back a week later, the king was still unavailable, but he had left a large donation of hundred gold coins for the saintly person. The saintly person said that he had no need for a hundred gold coins; he simply wanted to meet with the king. He was again told to come back, this time in two weeks. When he returned at the end of the two weeks, the king was again unable to receive him, but the saintly person was told that the king wanted to give him five hundred gold coins for his trouble. The saintly person refused to accept the money, and was requested to come back in a month. He returned a month later but again there was no meeting. This time he was told that the king wanted to give him a thousand gold coins. The saintly person refused the gold coins again, repeating that he only wished to meet with the king.

The saintly person now decided to go to the queen’s palace. When he arrived there, the queen offered praṇāma, gave him a seat, offered him something to drink and asked, “Bābā, how can I serve you?”

The saintly person replied, “I went to see the king because I wanted to tell him something, but he always sent the message, ‘Not today; come back next week, come in two weeks.’ He just wanted to give me gold coins, which I do not need. Therefore, I will tell you what I have to say.”

“What is it, Bābā?” the queen inquired.

The saintly person explained, “The king has only three more months to live. After that he will give up this world. However, he has performed good karma so he will go to a heavenly planet where all arrangements have been made for him. Nowadays, there are mosquitoes on the heavenly planet to which the king will go, so a mosquito net has been provided for him. However that mosquito net has a small hole in one corner so when the king leaves this world, he must take with him a small needle and a little bit of thread in order to repair the mosquito net.”

Having delivered his message the saintly person left the queen’s palace.

The queen began to weep and immediately sent her maidservant to call the king. The king, who had had no time to meet with the saintly person, immediately rushed to his queen wanting to know what was causing her so much distress.

“Why are you crying my queen?” he asked.

The queen then related the conversation with the saintly person. “What kind of person was he?” asked the king. “Please describe him.”

“He was in saffron robes, and he had a śikhā, a sacred thread and kaṇṭhi-mālā.”

The king immediately sent a horseman to catch up with the saintly person and bring him back with great respect. It had not been long since the saintly person had left the queen’s palace, so the horseman was able to find him very easily. He brought him back to the king with great honour. This time, the king received the saintly person with great respect, placed him on his own throne and sat down at his feet.

The king said, “Bābā, have you been speaking with my queen?”

“Yes, I spoke with her,” replied the saintly person. “However, if you have no faith in me, you can arrest me and put me in jail. After your death, you can have your followers release me from jail.”

The king asked the saintly person. “How can I take a small needle and thread with me when I die?”

“This you should consider deeply,” the saintly person replied. “You have a large kingdom, and you have done so many things for your citizens and others. But what have you done for yourself? What have you got to take with you when you leave? All this large kingdom, and you are wondering how you can take a small needle and thread? You cannot take even that much with you, so what will you do? What is the purpose of your whole life?”

The king became humbled and said, “Please, Bābā, kindly tell me what should I do?”

“Do bhajana of Bhagavān under the guidance of a bona fide guru. Let all that you do, think, and speak be for the pleasure and benefit of the Lord. Then at the time of death you will be able to remember Bhagavān intensely, your path to eternal auspiciousness will become blessed, and your life will be successful.”

Narottamānanda Prabhu told this story of the king and the saintly person to Śrīla Gurudeva so many decades ago, but its message was not meant for his ears only. It was meant for everyone’s sober consideration.

When we leave this world, we cannot take anything from this world with us. When we come into this world, our hands are closed tight, which implies that we have come with our own karma.

However, when we depart from this material world, our palms are open, signifying that we will have to leave behind whatever we have accumulated here. We can take nothing with us. But one who practices remembering Kṛṣṇa during his life will naturally remember Him at the time of death and in this way he will achieve Him.