Once a king came across a very wise shepherd. He liked him so much that he made him his minister. The minister did very well and became quite popular. Some people did not like this and they kept saying things against the wise shepherd to the king. They poisoned their minds against him out of their jealousy, and imagined all sorts of things. This was especially true when they realised that the shepherd had a locked room in his mansion, and that no one was allowed to go inside that room but he.

They told the king this: "He spends an hour in that room alone every day. Surely he must be engaged in some secret activity against you?"
The curiosity of the king was aroused and he demanded to be shown that room. The minister did not want to do it in the beginning. Then he opened the room and took the king inside. There was nothing in the room except an old dhoti and a stick.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked the king.
"Oh king," said the man. "I keep these things to remind me of the past. I was a very happy shepherd and enjoyed being out in the open with my sheep. I lived a simple life. So I come here every day and think of my past. I know I can go back to these things when my duties here are over."
The king realized his mistake and apologized profusely to the wise man.

Reprinted with permission from the Shri Ram Chandra Mission, from the Teachers' Guide for Value-based Spiritual Education. Curriculum for Classes I to X, 2000, Sahaj Marg Research and Training Institute of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Chennai, India. For information contact Santosh Khanjee, Secretary of International Affairs at info@srcm.org.

Q: Shepherds are usually poor, uneducated people. How do you think the shepherd became wise?

Maxim Four: "Be plain and simple to be identical with Nature". Do you think this describes the shepherd?

Q: What did the shepherd do to try to retain his simplicity in the king's court?

Q: Simplicity is often misunderstood by others, and this also happened to the shepherd. Can you think of examples where your behaviour or the behaviour of others has been misunderstood and made out to be more complicated than it really was?

Q: What do you think of gossip? Do you always believe gossip?

Q: What is jealousy? Have you felt jealous?

Q: Can jealousy colour your feelings about another person?

Q: How can you rise above jealousy?

Maxim Six: "Know all people as thy brethren and treat them as such."

Q: How does jealousy stop us from living according to Maxim Number Six?

Q: If people practised Maxim Six, how would the world today be different?

O, Master!
Thou art the real goal of human life.
We are yet but slaves of wishes
Putting bar to our advancement,
Thou art the only God and power
To bring us up to that stage.