739. The King's 'Fatigue'

"How was your trip to the Mekala country?" asked the king's mentor.

"It was good, Guru" replied the king.

"I discern some fatigue in you. Is the fatigue on account of the journey or on account of some other factor? Were you not treated well by Parakala, the king of Mekala country?"

"No, Guru. Parakala's hospitality was excellent. He treated me with respect and love. I am not suffering from travel fatigue, either."

"Why do you look full, then?"

"Looking at the natural resources of Mekala country, I was amazed. The country is blessed with an abundance of nature's gifts like mountains, rivers, lakes, forests etc. Wherever I went, I saw greenery! In contrast, the topography our country is made of plains and plateaus. There are  no mountains or forests. We have only one major river. There will be water flow in the river, only if there is good rainfall. But we don't get plentiful rainfall during most of the years. Over the years, we have created lakes and ponds by making a lot of efforts. We have to use ground water as the major source of water, both for irrigation and for drinking. So, we have implemented many schemes to ensure that the ground water table does not go too below the ground level. We plant crops that don't need much water and we eat grains yielded by such crops. We have adopted our food habits in tune with what grains we can grow in our country. Yet, the food grain yield is not enough to meet our needs. With the scope of agriculture being limited, we have focused on handicrafts. We make products through handicrafts, export them to other countries and use the export credit to import food grains from other countries. I couldn't help comparing how we have to work so hard to develop our country to ensure that our people get adequate food, while Mekala country is blessed to have several natural resources in abundance. It was this thought that made me feel fatigued."

"It is only natural that you compare the abundant natural resources of Mekala with our lacking in such resources and feeling dismayed that we have to work hard to get things while a country like Mekala has been able to get its requirements without making much efforts, because of the blessings of nature. But, look at the situation this way. One person is born rich. Another person is born poor, but attains wealth through his efforts. Should not the latter feel proud of his acomplishment?" asked the mentor.

"What you say is correct, Guru. However, won't you agree that it is only natural for a person born poor but become wealthy through hard work to compare himself with a person born rich and feel, 'If I had been born rich like him, I wouldn't have had to struggle so much to attain this wealthy status?'" asked the king, with a dry smile.

Thirukkural

Materialism

Chapter 74
The Country

Verse 739 (in Tamil):
nAdu enba nAdA vaLaththana nAdu alla
nAda vaLam tharu nAdu.

Meaning:

The learned say that those are kingdoms whose wealth is not laboured for, and those whose wealth is only obtained through labour, are not.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'vikkiramasinganin varuththam' by the same author.) 

Verse 740 (Soon)
Verse 738