The following story comes from Healing Stories in Yoga by Gandhar Mandlik from Yoga Point in India.
Very nice,
Very nice.
The yoga perspective of this story.
It is always how we perceive the objects and events that decide our reactions rather than the object or event itself.
Positive or negative reactions are our choice and we have the freedom to make this choice.
Yoga is always looking at the brighter side of life and to make positive decisions.
This is the story of a king and his prime minister.
The king was very noble,
Generous,
Efficient and progressive.
His prime minister was also very intelligent,
Diplomatic,
Aware of his duties and very faithful to the king.
The king and prime minister were very good friends and always worked together.
They developed their country and people were happy there.
But the prime minister had one annoying habit.
He used to say very nice,
Very nice to anything that would happen whether good or bad.
One day the king was ill and could not go out of his palace and wanted to talk to the prime minister.
The prime minister came.
The king told him that he was not well.
The prime minister said to the king,
Very nice,
Very nice.
The king was annoyed.
He said to prime minister that this is a very bad habit and he should stop saying very nice.
But the prime minister believed that everything that happens in the life is neutral,
Neither positive nor negative.
It is our attitude that makes it good or bad for us.
One day the king decided that he would like to see the progress in his kingdom and how the common people were living there.
He made a plan to disguise himself as a commoner and visit the remote villages in the forest.
He asked the prime minister about his plan and as usual the prime minister said very nice.
So the king and the prime minister both disguised themselves and started on the tour.
After traveling some distance in the forest,
They lost their way and it was beginning to get dark.
The king said that they have lost the track and the prime minister replied very nice to that.
The king was angry.
After some time in a rocky section of the path,
The horse that the king was riding slipped and broke its leg and the king fell down.
The prime minister again said very nice,
Very nice.
This time the king got very angry and told the prime minister to give him his horse.
He then got on it and started to ride,
Telling the prime minister to follow him on foot.
The prime minister again said very nice,
Very nice.
The king ignored this comment.
It began to get darker and darker and after some time,
The king,
Alone with the horse,
Fell into a deep pit as he failed to see it in the dark.
The prime minister was walking from behind so indeed it was very nice for him.
The king broke his little toe but the horse was not injured.
When the prime minister reached there,
The king said,
I have broken my little toe and it is very painful.
The prime minister again replied very nice,
Very nice.
This time the king was very angry.
He asked the prime minister to get him out of the pit immediately.
The prime minister helped the king out with the help of a tree branch but when the king came up,
He pushed the prime minister into the pit and said to him angrily,
Very nice,
Very nice.
Interestingly,
The prime minister also said very nice,
Very nice.
The king left without the prime minister or the horse.
It was very painful for the king but he had no choice.
He kept walking and suddenly he was caught by some tribal people from the forest.
The king tried to tell them that he was their king but the tribal people would not believe him as the king's appearance was different and there were no guards or horses.
They took the king to their colony where the king was informed that they were going to sacrifice him to their goddess.
The king was very sad and depressed.
He remembered all the events and felt very bad.
He was blaming his own destiny.
The time came when the tribal people took him to the place of sacrifice.
The main priest came and observed the king for a long time.
Something changed and the tribal people released the king.
He was informed that their goddess wants only a complete human being for sacrifice but as the king had his toe broken,
They won't accept him.
The king was very happy and came back to the place where he left the prime minister.
He saw his friend sitting in the pit calmly and quietly.
The king helped his friend come out and narrated the whole story.
The prime minister smiled and said to the king,
See my dear king,
The broken toe was indeed very nice,
Very nice.
It saved my life.
Very nice,
Very nice.
It saved your life.
The king also realized and acknowledged this.
He further asked,
But when I left you in the pit,
You also said very nice to that.
The prime minister replied,
If you would not push me into the pit,
I would be with you and your toe is broken.
My toe was intact.
The king realized and smiled.
The king was never angry at the prime minister for saying very nice,
Very nice again.
