The Value Of Praise
Vasanta Roy, the ambitious king of Karpurvan, nursed a great desire, that was to be praised by all his subjects. The more he read or heard about the great kings of the past whose glory was sung by the posterity, the more eager he grew to be counted as one among them. He was never reluctant to spend for the welfare of his people or in charity to the poor. Once in awhile he donned a disguise and wandered among his people and heard what they said about him and his administration. The people, in general, spoke well of him and that pleased him very much. But one day he had an unexpected encounter. A villager named Shiv told him, "What is there so great about our king? I don't think he has done anything to deserve praise!" The disguised king was quite surprised. He concluded that there must be some special problem concerning the people of that particular village which he had not solved. That made them unhappy. On enquiring, he learnt that there was a dearth of water in the village. He discussed the problem with the experts and dug a canal which greatly benefitted the village. A year later the disguised king met Shiv again. He certainly expected Shiv to praise him. But Shiv remarked, "Digging a canal does not make a king great. We have so many problems. How much does the king care for them?" The king made further enquiries and learnt that there was no road connecting the village with the town.
Villagers who earned their living by selling their produce in the town suffered much during the monsoon. The king lost no time in constructing a road. Even then no praise for the king was forthcoming from Shiv. The king established a dispensary and a school in the village in the course of another year. All the villagers spoke high of the king, but not Shiv. The disguised king asked Shiv, "Well, I fail to understand why you have no kind word for the king when all others in the village praise him! What is the matter with you?" "Those who are benefitted by the king naturally sing his praise. Why should I?" replied Shiv. "But it is not surprising that you alone do not benefit from the king's actions?" queried the king. "Those who have lands benefit by the canal; those who have some reason or the other to go to the town benefit by the road. I have none. Those who have kids to study benefit from the school. My sons are grown up. Those who are diseased are happy to have the dispensary. I am not. Will you please tell me why should I praise the king?" was Shiv's reply.
Instead of thinking about the problems of the village, the king now tried to find out the personal problems that beset Shiv. He soon learnt that Shiv quarrelled with his sons and the sons were united against him. As there was no peace at home, Shiv passed his time here and there and went without food on days. The king built a house for Shiv and so arranged that he did not have to go without food. On meeting the disguised king next, Shiv was full of his praise! A few days passed. While passing through another village the disguised king met another of his critics named Hari. No more did the king try to find out what was the problem of Hari's village. He simply found out what ailed Hari himself and gave him relief. Hari grew great admirer of the king. By now the king had realised that there were some people who were never happy with any good work unless they were directly benefitted by the work. They praised the king only when their interest was served. They remained blind to the great welfare works which benefited the whole community. As the king realised this, his fascination for praise was gone. No more was he eager to satisfy individuals for the sake of being praised by them. He devoted his resources and time for the general welfare of his subjects, no matter what a few people said about him. As a result, he was praised by all, although he had no need of such praise anymore!
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