There is a story on Mulla Nasruddin, the mystic. His bench was hearing a harassment and assault case. In the morning session he passionately heard all that the plaintiff had to say. Before the court dispersed for lunch break, Mulla announced that the verdict is scheduled in the afternoon. Quite shocked, the bench clerk informed the judge that he hadn’t heard the accused. Mulla replied, “Now I’m clear; once I hear him too, I may get confused.”
We all know that his decision wasn’t at all fair. But, many times, at least when we make foolish decisions, we may appreciate Mulla Nasruddin for his bold decision to remain clear. For us too, the side we join continues always right. It is a fact that in each and every one of us, there lives one Nasruddin.
I have also heard stories of cunning wizards. An astrologer once predicted the death of the queen. The queen died exactly on the day it was predicted. The king called him to the palace. The astrologer knew that he would surely be beheaded. The king asked him if he knew his day of death. He replied, “Not sure my lord, but one thing I know …. after three days from my death, Your Majesty also will pass away.” As you all guessed, the astrologer was released!
Many people are not like this cunning astrologer. Not only that they won’t utilise the chances to escape but also add to their woes by bringing more troubles.
There is the story of a thief who stole a bag of onions from a shop. He was caught and brought to the king. The king asked him to choose one of the three punishments he proposes to give him. The first is that he can go free after eating all the onions in the bag. The next choice is receiving 50 whip lashes and the last is to pay a fine of 25 silver coins and go. The thief chose to eat all the onions.
As agreed, he began eating the onions. By the time he ate ten – twelve onions, his cheeks turned red and eyes were filled with tears. His body began to burn too. He was sure that he was not going to eat all the onions in the bag. So, he decided to opt for the lashes. Just ten lashes and he began to dance terribly in pain. At last, he decided to pay the fine and go.
See, how careful we are to be when taking key decisions. It is also dangerous to take in others’ opinions in full. Once a man opened a sweet shop. He fixed a beautiful board on top of the shop written, ‘Sweet chocolates are available here!’ One man who read the board asked the shopkeeper why he has written ‘sweet’ because everybody knows that chocolates are sweet. The shopkeeper so erased the word ‘sweet’. The next man came and asked him the relevance of the word ‘here’ on the board, because it is clear that chocolates are sold in this shop only. So, the word ‘here’ also was removed and the board became, ‘Chocolates are available’. The next one came and asked the shopkeeper why he has written ‘chocolates’ on the board, because everybody can see and confirm for themselves that what is sold here are chocolates only. And thus, the word chocolate also was removed. The next one came and asked the shopkeeper why he has written on the board available ‘here’, because everybody can see jars full of chocolates. At last, the remaining word too were removed. Then came the last one. Looking at the blank board he asked why it hasn’t been used. He suggested the shopkeeper to write on it at least, ‘Sweet chocolates are available here.’
It’s always nice to have proper discussions before all decisions. But decide to stick to your own conclusions every time – it makes a big difference.
