Three Principles

Long ago there was an emperor named Domitian in Rome. He was a very intelligent. During his reign no criminal or unjust person was able to flourish. Everyone was afraid of committing any crime due to fear of punishment.

One day when he was sitting in his room, a businessman came and knocked at his door. The gatekeeper opened the door and asked him the reason for knocking on the door. The merchant said, “I have come to sell some things which are beneficial and useful.”

Hearing what he said, the gatekeeper took him inside and presented him before the emperor. When the merchant bowed politely before the emperor and greeted him, the emperor asked, “Tell me, what gift do you have to sell?”

The merchant said, “King! “I want to sell three things that are full of logic and wisdom.”

Well, that’s it. Tell me, what will be their price?

Only a thousand floatin.” On this the emperor said, “And if those things are of no use then will my money be wasted?” The merchant said, “King, if those words do not prove beneficial, I will return all the money taken.”

The emperor said, “Then tell me those things. We accept this deal.”

“King! The first thing is that whatever you do, do it wisely and considering its consequences. Secondly, do not leave the main road or highway and go on a small path or trail. Thirdly, never stay an overnight guest in a house where the husband is old and the wife is young. If you follow these three axioms, they will prove to be very beneficial.

The emperor also found these things very instructive and right. He sent the merchant away after giving him one thousand floatins.

The merchant left and the emperor kept weighing these three things in his mind. The merchant’s first statement seemed so beautiful to him that he ordered it to be written in bold letters and posted in the bedroom of the court and in every place of the palace. Not only this, he also got this quote engraved on every piece of cloth he used, like bed sheets, pillow cases, towels and other things.

Due to the emperor’s love for justice, many goons and scoundrels became his enemies. They hatched a conspiracy to kill the emperor by whatever means possible. They lured the king’s barber by giving him a lot of money. He admitted that when he went to shave the emperor, he would seize the opportunity and cut the emperor’s throat.

The barber became the main character of this conspiracy and went to shave the emperor. He applied water to the emperor’s beard and started softening it. While trimming his beard, the barber’s eyes were fixed on the towel he had wrapped around the emperor’s neck – Whatever you do, do it after thinking through your mind and considering its consequences.

The barber read it once, twice, thrice and many more times. He kept reading and meditating. He started thinking in his mind – ‘If I kill him, the consequences will be disastrous for me. I will also be caught and killed like a dog. Therefore, whatever I do, I will do it thoughtfully and keeping the results in mind. The barber became so engrossed in this idea and became so frightened at the thought of the consequences that his hands began to tremble and the razor slipped from his hand and fell on the floor.

When the emperor saw his condition, he asked, “Why, what has happened to you today? Are you sick?”

Hearing the emperor’s words, the barber came to his senses and folded his hands and prayed, “Government, please forgive me. I was bought by your enemy to kill you today. But the letters on the towel startled me and I became like this. Sorry, government?”

The emperor thought in his mind that the first principle has saved my life today. After this he said to the barber, “You will be forgiven on the condition that you now promise to remain faithful forever.”

The barber saved his life by giving such a promise. When the conspirators saw that their first attack had failed, they hatched another conspiracy that when the emperor went to visit a certain city, they would hide in a footpath leading to that city. According to their plan, the emperor will definitely go through the same short route and they will attack him secretly and kill him.

According to his thinking, the emperor also set out to go to that city. Seeing this his enemies also took their places and waited for his arrival. When the king reached that short path, his companions said, ‘King! Come on, let’s go through this short path. By going this way we will reach that city quickly.”

The king immediately remembered the second principle told by the merchant. He repeated it once in his mind. The second principle of the merchant is – ‘Do not leave the main road and take the short route. I will follow it today. Thinking this, he said to the soldiers and companions, “Friends, I will go through the royal road only. If any of you wishes to go by the shorter route, then you can go.”

Hearing his answer, some soldiers joined him and some left through a shorter route. They were attacked by the emperor’s enemies. They were all killed when they attacked at night and like thieves. On the other hand, the emperor reached the city without any hindrance. When those soldiers did not come even throughout the night, a search was made for them. When the news of his death reached the emperor, he thanked the merchant in his mind and said, “The second principle has also saved my life. Oh God ! Thank you so much!”

Seeing their second attack also going in vain, the emperor’s enemies kept searching for a new opportunity. Once, the emperor had to go to a village.  Emperior enemies reached that city already. There, they found out the address of the house where arrangements had been made for the emperor’s stay. This time he made full arrangements from his side to kill the emperor.

When the emperor reached that city and was taken to that house. He ordered that the host, that is, the owner of the house, be presented. On his orders he was presented before the emperor. He was old. As soon as the emperor saw him he said, “Sir! do you have wife?”

“Yes, government!”

“Will you please allow them also to come before me?”

The old man called his wife before the emperor. She was a young beauty of eighteen years. Seeing this, the emperor remembered the merchant’s third principle and immediately said, “Servants, quickly make arrangements for me to sleep overnight at some other place. I will not stay here even a moment longer.”

The servants replied, “But he has made all the arrangements for you very well. Rajan! Because there is no other house like this in the entire city, if you are granted pardon, you can stay here for the whole night.”

On this the emperor insisted, “No, what I have decided cannot be changed. I would prefer to live in a hut instead of this house. Go, make arrangements!”

The servants hastily arranged for his stay in another small house. When he started going to that other house, the courtiers expressed their desire not to go there. The emperor gave him permission to stay there and said, “Okay, come to me tomorrow morning.”

The emperor secretly went to another house. In the darkness of the night the old man and his wife came and killed the courtiers one by one. Next morning, when the emperor got the news of his death, he thanked God and said – “O merciful God! If I had also lived in the same house, I would have died. The merchant’s third theory also proved true.

The old man and his entire family were murdered on the orders of the emperor. After this the emperor always ruled peacefully by adopting these three principles.

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