Once upon a time a there lived a king who was a great devotee of God. He used to worship God every day with great sincerity and commitment .Yet, he was perturbed by three questions-
Firstly, Is there God?
Secondly, if He exists , where and how can we see Him.
The third question was, What does God do?
The King could not get satisfactory answers to these questions.
Through a messenger the King proclaimed throughout his kingdom that if any person provided satisfactory answers to the three questions, he would shower expensive gifts on him. If the answers were wrong, the person would be severely penalised.
Several people attempted to answer the questions but failed and ended up paying the penalty. Finally the king told his minister-
“You have to find the correct answers to my questions.”
With a heavy heart, the minister returned home. When his son learnt the reason for his father’s worried looks he told him-
“Father, take me to the palace tomorrow, I will answer the king’s questions.”
Next morning the minister’s son stood in front of the palace and was churning the milk he had brought in a vessel. The king stopped by and asked him what he was doing.
The boy replied-
“I am looking for butter in this milk.”
The king told him-
“Child, you need to make curd out of this milk and then churn it to get the butter.”
The boy said-
“Your Majesty, we have found out the answers to your first two questions. God is like the butter in the milk which can be seen only by churning the curd. He is there but hidden.”
When the king demanded the answer for the third question, the boy asked the king to place him on the throne. The king obliged. Seated on the throne, the boy answered the third question-
“God elevates humble people to high positions and hurls down arrogant persons to hell.”
Pleased with this answer, the king showered gifts on the boy and honoured him. Later, the king gave up pride and arrogance and ruled the kingdom with humility .
Translated by : Dr. Sharada Jayagovind
