The only flaw of the Palace
There is the story of a king who
once built a special palace.
He made it so impregnable that no enemy could enter it. We also, in life, make
just such castles and take all precautions to keep the enemy away and be
absolutely safe. What does man do all his life, after all? Why does he amass
wealth? Why does he yearn for position and fame? So that he may feel safe and
secure and life holds no terror for him. But the fun of the whole thing, and
also the secret, is that the more measures he takes to safeguard himself, his
fear increases in the same proportion. The king had also conquered all there
was to conquer.
No the only fear was to guard himself from the enemy; for the
enemy conquered is still the enemy.
He who tries to conquer others,
makes enemies of all. Only he who is ready to accept defeat from another man
alone be a friend in this world. The king wished to conquer the whole world so
the whole world was his enemy and his fear had increased a thousandfold. When
fear increased, it became necessary to make provisions for safety. He built a
big palace with only one door. There were no other doors and no windows; not
even a hole for the enemy to work through. Only one door — guarded by thousands
of soldiers with naked swords.
The neighbouring kind came to see
this much-talked-of palace. He was terribly impressed and determined to make a
similar palace for his own safety. While taking leave, he praised the king for
his foresight and wisdom and reiterated his desire to follow his example. An
old beggar sitting by the roadside heard this talk. He laughed aloud. The owner
of the palace chided him saying: “What makes you laugh, fool?”
“Since you ask, Sire, I shall take
the opportunity of telling you,” said the beggar. “There is only one flaw in
this marvellous structure. It is impregnable except for the door. The enemy can
come through the door. If you step in and have the door covered with brick and
mortar, it will be completely secure. Then no enemy can ever enter it.”
“If I do as you say, you fool, this
palace will become my grave,” said the king.
“It already is,” said the fakir,
“except for the door. Through this door the enemy can come, and if not the
enemy, death is bound to come.”
“But I will be dead before that!”
raved the king.
“Then understand this well.” said
the fakir. “As many doors as you had in your palace, so much of existence was
with you. As you decreased the doors so also life diminished within you. Now
one door is left — one lone opening to life; close it and shut out life
forever. Therefore I say, there is only one flaw.” And he broke into peals of
laughter again. “I too had castles, your majesty,”the fakir continued. “Then I
felt that they were no more than prison-houses. So I began to widen the doors
and separate the walls. But I found that no matter how much I widened the doors
the walls still remained, so I got out of the walls and came out in the open.
Now I stay beneath the open skies and am alive in the perfect sense of the
word.”
But have we not all built as many
walls around us as we possibly could? The walls that are made of brick and
mortar are not that dangerous, for they can be seen. There are other walls —
subtle, imperceptible walls…. These are the hard screens — glass screens of
concepts, of doctrines, of scriptures. Absolutely invisible!
These walls we have built around our
souls for complete security The thicker the walls, the farther it keeps us away
from the open skies of Truth. Then the soul becomes restless and struggles; and
the more agitated the soul is, the more we strive to strengthen the walls. Then
a fear grips us — perhaps this struggle, this restlessness, is due to the
walls? The answer is “Yes.” As long as the soul is confined, it cannot attain
bliss. There is no sorrow except in captivity.
Osho – “The Begining of the
Begining”
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