The Best Wish
Once upon a time, a king ruled a distant country. One day, he wanted a beautiful palace to be built for his queen. He immediately called his minister and expressed his wish.
The minister hunted throughout the kingdom and chose the 5 most skilled masons and engaged them in this task. The five masons gave their heart and soul to make the palace a truly grand one, and unique in every respect. In less than twelve months, a gorgeous palace was built.
One morning, the minister informed the king that the palace was built. The king could not wait to check it out and immediately went to the new palace. The moment he saw the wonderful masterpiece, he was dumbstruck. He was awed by the beauty of the palace. At once he turned to his minister and said, ‘Who built this wonderful masterpiece? I want to meet them and reward them for their remarkable work.”
The next morning, the minister brought the five masons to the court and presented them to the king. Looking at the five masons, the king said, ‘You have pleased me by your marvelous work. I can imagine the amount of effort you would have put in, sacrificing your family and other comforts to build this grand palace. Ask for anything, and your wish shall be granted!”
The first mason stepped forward and spoke up, “My Lord! My family has been in abject poverty all our life. If you can give us enough wealth to life comfortably for the rest of our life, we shall be honoured.”
The king turned to his minister and asked him to give him sufficient money.
The second mason came forward and said, “Your majesty, I was instrumental in building this grand palace, but I myself live in a small hut. All I wish for is a spacious mansion so that my family can live there comfortably.”
The king agreed to grant his wish too.
It was the third mason’s turn. He said, “By God’s grace, we have a nice house to live in. But it is situated in the thick of the jungle and my commute to the capital is painful because of the lack of proper roads. I would deem it a great honour if His Highness can arrange for paved roads from the capital leading to my home.”
‘So it be’, said the king.
The fourth mason spoke up, “I am young and single. I have had only one wish all my life. I want to marry my village headman’s daughter. I humbly request you to give me a letter of recommendation.”
The minister granted that wish too.
Now, it was the turn of the fifth mason. He loved the king so much that he did not know what to ask. With hesitation in his tone and head hung low, in a soft, trembling voice, he said, ‘Your Majesty! All I ask of you is to please honour my humble home with your visit.”
The king was surprised and delighted to hear this strange request. Nevertheless, he agreed and immediately asked his minister to make arrangements for his trip to this mason’s home.
Soon, the minister hastened to the fifth mason’s home and asked him for his address. He discovered that this mason lived in a small hut in a deep jungle which had no connecting roads. To add to this, he was so poor that he did not have even the basic necessities at home. So the minister immediately ordered a bigger house to be built, so that it could accommodate the king and his royal accompaniments. He also ordered the supply of household materials, gifts and wealth that would suffice for a lifetime! He ordered proper roads to be laid so that the king and all his paraphernalia could travel comfortably.
The news of the king’s imminent visit spread like wild fire in the village. The king’s stay at the mason’s house was the talk of the town. Hearing this, the village headman came to this mason’s house on his own accord to offer his daughter in marriage.
So dear friends, do you see how the fifth mason got everything that the other masons wished for, and more?
Similarly, when we pray sincerely to the Lord, our dear God to reside in our hearts by constantly singing His Divine Name, all other worldly prosperity would be automatically added on to us, just by His mere presence in our heart.
