This is a teaching story from the book Enlightening Tales by Swami Satchidananda
Once upon a time, there was a king who had a wonderful, wise minister. The minister was very loyal and devoted to his sovereign, and the king would never leave the palace without the minister at his side. They were always together.
One day, as the king was cutting a. piece of fruit, he accidentally cut his finger. While it was being treated, he asked the minister why this had happened. “I was being so careful,” he explained, “but the knife just seemed to slip all by itself and gave me this deep cut.”
The minister simply smiled at him and said, “Don’t worry, Your Majesty; it’s all for the good.”
The king became furious. “ What kind of answer is that? I cut my finger! The blood is pouring out, and it hurts so much. Yet, you stand there and calmly say, “It’s all for good.” If that’s all you care for me, I don’t want you around anymore!”
The king called for his guards and told them to lock the minister up as punishment. As he was being taken away, the minister simply said, “As you wish, Your Majesty. No doubt, this, also is for good.” And he quietly submitted to being taken away.
Several days later, the king decided to go hunting. He went far into the forest with a large group of companions. At one point, he started chasing a deer. Since his horse was the fastest one, he was soon way ahead of the rest of the party. Still, the deer managed to escape. Before he knew it, the king had gone very deep into the jungle and was lost.
Fortunately, the king had been on many adventures, and he stayed calm. But he was very tired and thirsty. Nearby, there was a big green tree with a small brook running past it. He drank his fill, then leaned against the tree, and fell asleep in the shade.
After a while he was awakened by a rustling sound. He slowly opened his eyes and what he saw made him freeze. A huge lion was standing right next to him, and it was sniffing his body! The king didn’t know what to do so he just sat still, watching the lion. The lion continued to sniff him all over. Then, suddenly as it was sniffing one of the king’s hands, it drew back, snorted and ran away.
The king was amazed at his good fortune! Of course he had been so frightened that there was plenty of adrenaline pumping so he was wide awake now, leaped up and began shouting for his hunting companions who eventually found him. He told them about the mysterious encounter with the lion.
“That’s wonderful they all said but none of them could explain why it happened and the king began to wish his wise minister was with him to explain things.
When they returned to the palace, he had the minister brought to him and told him the whole story in great detail. The minister simply said, “It’s all for the good, Your Majesty.”
“What do you mean it’s all for the good?” That doesn’t explain why the ferocious lion just went away without even biting me. What is the reason for this?”
“Your Majesty, the lion is the king of the beasts just as you are king of people. When somebody offers you a fruit, it should be clean and unblemished. The lion wants his food that way also. When it came and sniffed you, it smelled the cut on your finger and knew you were not fit to eat. So you see, Sire, the cut finger saved your life. Now do you understand that it’s all for good?”
You’re absolutely right, “ the king replied. “You knew what you were saying all along. I’m sorry that I had you locked up. But tell me something: as they took you away you said, “This also is for good. What is the good that happened by that?”
“Your Majesty, the minister replied, you know that ordinarily, we are never separated. Surely I would have been with you in the hunt and would have raced after you through the jungle. Then we would have both been sleeping under the tree when the lion came. He still would have rejected you but he would have swallowed me because I had no cuts. By having me taken away, you saved my life. So, you see, it’s all for good.
Adversities are blessings in disguise. You may not be able to see the benefit until much later, but it is there. Have faith in a positive outcome.