The Wise King -A Sufi Story-

This Sufi tale reminds us that what is correct, what is best, is not always what the majority thinks or does. Many times it is important for us to establish our own criteria through personal inquiry. Is this attitude good for me? How do I feel, regardless of external influence, about my position on this issue?

Transcript

Once there ruled in the distant city of Bwirani,

A king who was both mighty and wise,

And he was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom.

Now in the heart of that city was a well whose water was cool and crystalline,

From which all the inhabitants drank,

Even the king and his courtiers,

For there was no other well.

One night when all were asleep,

A witch entered the city and poured seven drops of strange liquid into the well,

And said,

From this hour they who drink this water shall become mad.

Next morning all the inhabitants,

Save the king and his lord Chamberlain,

Drank from the well and became mad,

As the witch had foretold.

And during that day the people in the narrow streets and in the marketplaces did not but whisper to one another,

The king is mad,

Our king and his lord Chamberlain have lost their reason.

Surely we cannot be ruled by a mad king,

We must dethrone him.

That evening the king ordered a golden goblet to be filled from the well,

And when it was brought to him he drank deeply and gave it to his lord Chamberlain to drink.

And there was great rejoicing in that distant city of Virani,

Because its king and its lord Chamberlain had regained their reason.