Fool’s Paradise

Fool’s Paradise

In Bangladesh and India a wise and a learned man is referred as a ‘guru’ meaning master. Such gurus are looked upon with great respect and they usually have several followers also called devotees. They help them spread the virtues of wisdom among people.

            One such guru was traveling with his young follower from one place to another when they came to a land where everything costs the same, for example- a glass of mild costs the same as a pot of chicken curry.

The follower was delighted, ‘we must never leave this place’ he said, ‘this place is like a paradise’. The guru thought hard for a moment and then said, ‘no we cannot stay long in this place where everything costs the same. There is no difference between rich and poor, wise and fool, cheap or costly’. But the follower did not want to leave this place, ‘I am tired of traveling with you and carrying your stuff, I think I will stay here’ he said.

            When the guru failed to convince him, he left but warned him, ‘Pretty soon you will find out why this is a fool’s paradise and then you will be sorry’.

            The follower spent his days going to the bazaar and eating lots of rice, sweets and other rich foods to his heart’s content. Within a few months, he became fat and plump.

            One day in that land, a woman came crying to the king’s palace and complained that her husband who was a thief had fallen from a broken roof and had lost his life. At once the king summoned the owner of the house, who came trembling and said, ‘O king, it’s not my fault, it’s the fault of the mason who built the roof’. Then the king called for the mason. When the guards brought the mason, he fell on the king’s feet and said, ‘your majesty, it’s not my fault, it’s the fault of the laborer who mixed the sand and clay’.

            The king’s men went out to look for the laborer and they brought a thin skinny man before the king. The king looked at the man and said, ‘do you know that because you did not mix the sand and clay properly, the roof was not strong and the thief fell and died’ The laborer nodded. Then the king added, ‘now according to the rules of this land you must pay for the life of the thief by giving up your life’.

            The king ordered his men to put the laborer on top of the ‘soul’ which is a sharp iron rod and was used in those days to punish the guilty. The rod pierces through the body and thus

The person meets his life’s end. But the laborer was thin like a bay leaf and the king’s men complained that he would end up sitting on top of the soul. ‘Then bring a fat, plump man immediately’ shouted the king.

            The king’s men set out to look for a fat man and they brought the follower before the king. The king looked up at the follower and said, ‘you are the right type of person to be put on the soul and so you must pay for the life of the thief that he lost’. A large crowd had gathered around the soul. It so happened that the guru was passing by and seeing a crowd stopped to inquire. He was shocked to see that his follower was being dragged towards the soul. The guru thought of ways to help him escape this scandal.

            Then he ran towards the king shouting, ‘O raja, put me on the soul instead of that man, for today is the holy day and whoever gives up his life today will be born as a king’.

            As soon as the king’s ministers heard this, they rose on their feet and shouted, ‘put me on the soul, put me on the soul’.

There was a loud uproar. Then the king rose on his feet and raised his hand for every body to be quiet. When the crowd silenced, he said in a loud voice, ‘I am the king of this land and every body must listen to me. I was born as a king and I want to be born he stepped towards the soul.

            The guru crept towards the follower, caught hold of his ear and dragged him out of the crowd, ‘this is a fool’s paradise and the faster we get out of here the better’ he said.