The King and the Saint

There was a certain king who lived just a hundred years ago. He was
very restless and wanted peace of mind. Then he heard of one saint
living in his own kingdom. So he decided to go and see him.

Since he was a king he had to go with a lot of presents loaded on his
royal elephants. His queens and ministers and security forces also
accompanied him in procession.

A king was going to see a saint.

Now this saint lived in a very poor hermitage. There were only some
thatched huts and a few disciples.

When the king arrived, the saint was seated inside his hut.

The king told one of the disciples, “Inform your Guru that the king of
this country has come to pay his respects. May he come in?”

The disciple went inside to ask while the king waited outside with his
queens and ministers and presents.

The saint said to his disciple, “Tell the king to unload everything from
his elephants and place them under the tree and wait there. I will tell
him when I am free to see him.”

After this was done, the saint told his disciples, “Give him two meals
as they are cooked in this ashram. Lunch and dinner, that’s all.”

So the king and the queens and the ministers waited until night but
there was no order from the saint.

Finally, the king said, “We have to run the government. I will stay on
here and have darshan of the saint and only then return.” He sent the
ministers and queens back.

That night passed. Days are passing. Days are passing.
Now fifteen days are gone. Fifteen days he’s waited under the tree
with nothing but two meals a day.

Finally, the king tells a disciple, “I’ve waited here fifteen days. Go and
ask the saint if I can see him now.”

The disciple returned and answered, “He says you have to wait
another three days.” So the king waited three more days.
When the three days had passed he was told, “Now wait one more
day.”

Another day passed.

Again the king sent a man to the saint, saying, “Go and find out when
I can see him.”
“Just one hour,” he was told. “One more hour.”
Again the king asked, “When can I see him?”
“In five minutes.”

“Five minutes! Another five minutes! Five minutes is much too long to
wait! I cannot wait! I cannot wait!”

And with that he immediately rushed into the saint without asking
anyone’s permission and prostrated at his feet.

So what happened? It was his arrogance, his ego, that took time, you
see. It was only a mud hut. There was no door at all. He could have
gone in at any time. But what stopped him? Arrogance. Arrogance. “I
am a king.”

Enough arrogance!

What stops you from returning to your Consciousness? What stops
you? Your arrogance, your ego that asserts, “I am the body.” This is
your kingdom, isn’t it?

You are enthroned in this kingdom and all your vasanas are your
queens. And “this” and “that” are your ministers.

So, when you are ready, wherever you are, without asking anyone,
“Where is this Purusha? Where is this abode? Where is this, my own
abode of rest?” Just rush in, you see. No one is stopping you.

Whenever you conceive of the body, there must be some concealed
substratum by which you can even imagine there is a body, you see.
There must be something changeless, prior to the concept of the
body, from which this wave arises, “I am the body.” How do you miss
it? Like the king, you are spending millions of years before an open
door. No one stops you. Rush in. Right now. It takes that much time.