One of the greatest kings in human history was Akbar. For his kindness and justice to people, he was called the Guardian of Humanity. During his reign, he significantly expanded and strengthened India as a state.
Often, King Akbar traveled around his capital, according to the custom of that time, in a rich carriage with a team of eight horses. Heralds and bodyguards trumpeted his approach throughout the city quarters. In spite of all this pomp and circumstance, the king issued a strict decree: to stop whenever one of his subjects wants to approach him personally with a complaint or petition.
One day, a driver stopped his horses because a crippled beggar stretched out his hands to him begging for alms. He loudly praised the king and exclaimed: “Only the king can give me happiness!”
Akbar noticed that another beggar was sitting nearby and, as if objecting to the first, shouted loudly: “Only God can bless a person, only God can give a person happiness!”
Akbar thought about their words.
Returning to the palace, he ordered to bake a loaf of bread and bake a small ingot of gold in it. The next day he deliberately drove along this road. The scene was repeated, and Akbar gave the bread to the crippled beggar who cried out for the king's mercy. He did not give anything to the second beggar, because he did not make a request to him, but cried out only to God.
After some time, he drove along this street again. The charioteer again stopped the horses, because the crippled beggar was stretching out his hands with a plea for help to the king. The king got out of the carriage and asked him:
- Why are you asking me for help again? Didn't I give you a loaf of bread in which there was an ingot of gold?
The crippled beggar was surprised:
“I don’t know what kind of gold you’re talking about.” The bread you gave me seemed too heavy, and I decided that it was poorly baked. So I gave it to my beggar neighbor for 10 coins.
The king looked around. There was no second beggar nearby. Then he ordered to find out what happened to him. When he was informed that the beggar had given the bread to his wife, and she discovered gold in it, bought a house and put everything right, Akbar advised another beggar to call from now on not to the king, but to God, and to trust only in His mercy.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru