The king was beset by grief. He sat on the floor of his private chamber, his head buried in his knees. All had been lost. His personal advisor was summoned to his chambers. Upon seeing the great king reduced to a shell of a man in a small corner of the room,

the advisor sat on a chair and gazed upon him. What ensued was a dialogue that would change the course of the king's life. [Music] Have you nothing to say? No, you have no advice for a grieving king? Advice is not what people think it to be.

We have lost the battle. My kingdom is in ruins. My enemies approach from the north for an assault even greater than the last. Such are the affairs of ruling a kingdom. What shall I do? I do not know, my dear king. You do not know? Why not?

Because I am not certain who it is I am speaking to. You are speaking to the king, of course. The king has many faces, sir. He has many lives. I do not know which of them is under the spell of this grief. I have told you the nature of my grief.

The most obvious turmoils are often a decoy for the ones that lie within. I have learned not to be deluded into believing that the problem that is presented to me is the true problem. I advise you to do the same. What is the true problem?

The one that you are conceding, my king. Is my kingdom not in shambles? Have we not suffered a great assault? We have, but we have experienced such things before. Such is the nature of kings and kingdoms. Yet I have never seen you in such a

State you are correct, advisor. There is so much that troubles me, I do not know where to begin. There is no need to deliberate, wise king. Simply allow your voice free reign. It will find the words very well. I do not feel that I am fit to be a king.

When I look at myself, I do not see what the people see in me. I am a small man that has been fitted with a golden crown. The throne makes me look bigger than I am. Tell me, what makes you say these things? In no part of my life am I a success.

Neither as a king, as a husband, or as a father. I see my children rarely come to visit me. My people obey my command out of fear rather than respect. I cannot remember when last I had a peaceful sleep. I am beset by confusion, anxiety.

In all men of problems, the wars that I fight on the battlefield are small as compared to the ones I fight within myself. I am lost, O great advisor. I am lost. I understand, my king. Tell me why this has happened. It happens to a man who does not take

life seriously. Has it not been said that life is play, that one should frolic in the fields of life rather than treat it as a serious and sordid affair? The problem with techniques is that they leave the interpretation to the reader. Interpret correctly, and you live the teachings.

Interpret incorrectly, and you fall from a very steep cliff. Such are the dangers of attempting to fit wisdom into the narrow spines of letters and words. Then please tell me about my not having taken life seriously. You have not understood that each thought has a consequence in the human

Each word that is spoken has a consequence in the world, and each action has a consequence in your life. Tell me more. The problem with being a king is that it is easy to become kingly. Shall I see myself as something other than a king? Each thing has a truth, a secret, a way that works, in a way that does not. A man who takes life seriously does so because he recognizes that not doing so will cause him to think, speak, and act in ways that will sabotage him in the future. Everything is recorded, our king.

Everything. Then I'm ready for the pain that I feel today is unlike any I have ever felt, and as I look upon the landscape of my life I see the things that I have done so terribly wrong. And if, as you say, it is the result of my not having taken life seriously enough to learn the truth and the nature of things, then I will rise. I stand before you ready to know and understand these truths of which you speak. I am moved by your sincerity, my king. The words that you have just spoken are indeed the words that befit a king.

Then where shall we begin? We shall begin with the mind.

On Becoming A King - Kapil Gupta

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