{"id":3576,"date":"2018-11-13T11:19:01","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T11:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/?p=3576"},"modified":"2018-11-15T15:02:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-15T15:02:19","slug":"sto-212-the-kings-finger-seeing-gods-hand-everywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/further-information-and-teaching-resources-secondary\/values\/sto-212-the-kings-finger-seeing-gods-hand-everywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"STO-212 \u2013 The King\u2019s Finger (seeing God\u2019s hand everywhere)"},"content":{"rendered":"

STO-212-sec<\/a><\/p>\n

This story is relevant to the notion of seeing God\u2019s hand everywhere, and to \u2018the problem of evil\u2019. It could also be used to explore how we may not be able to determine the ultimate outcome of all situations, especially those that may appear to some to be negative.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once upon a time there lived a king and his minister. The King, though strong and generous, possessed a short temper. His minister was wise, patient and devoted to God. In everyday affairs the King usually thought he was the one making everything happen. The minister, however, saw the hand of God everywhere. Despite these differences, the King appreciated the minister, and they were firm friends.<\/p>\n

To protect his citizens from dangerous beasts, the King, armed with bow and arrow, would often ride into the forest with a small party of men. His minister would always go with them. One day while they were out hunting, the King proudly charged through a thicket on his fine steed. But a large cobra slithered in front of the horse, spitting poison from its fangs. The frightened horse kicked up violently, hurtling the King through the air. The King crashed to the ground beside the snake. The snake promptly sank its fangs into the King\u2019s finger, and then slithered back into the undergrowth.<\/p>\n

The King realised that unless his finger was quickly removed, the poison would travel through his body, reach his heart and kill him. Without hesitating, he unsheathed his sharp sword and chopped off the finger. His minister bandaged the King\u2019s hand and tried to pacify him with wise words, \u201cTake this as simply the mercy of the Lord. Accept it as part of his plan.\u201d The King, shaken and upset, did not appreciate the minister\u2019s view. \u201cBe quiet!\u201d he snapped. But the minister continued to speak of the Lords mercy. This enraged the King so much that he ordered his men, \u201cTake this foolish minister back to the city and cast him in the dungeon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Determined not to change his hunting plan for the day, the King, his hand neatly bandaged, continued alone through the forest searching for wild beasts. A short while later a gang of bandits ambushed him. They captured and bound him. Their leader, grinning broadly, spoke in a gruff voice, \u201cThis is your lucky day. I am going to sacrifice you to the Goddess Kali. It\u2019s not every day she enjoys royal blood!\u201d<\/p>\n

The King, however, considered himself most unlucky. Bound with ropes he had no way of saving himself from a bloody death on Kali\u2019s alter. Pointing at the King, the leader ordered his men, \u201cOur human offering should be stripped, washed and wrapped in new cloth.\u201d As the dacoits stripped him, one cried out, \u201cLook, there is a finger missing.\u201d Inspecting the king\u2019s hand, the leader of the dacoits was disappointed. \u201cWe cannot possibly offer an incomplete human to Kali,\u201d he grunted. \u201cRelease him, you fools, and find someone else.\u201d
\nUnexpectedly freed from his bonds, the king mounted his horse and sped back to the city. Going straight to the dungeons, he ordered the release of his minister. Embracing his friend, the king apologised, \u201cBy the mercy of the Lord I lost a finger. And as a result I had my life spared!\u201d<\/p>\n

After explaining the incredible incident to his minister, the King paused thoughtfully, \u201cI\u2019m still a little puzzled. If everything that happens is the mercy of the Lord, what if the point in you being thrown in the dungeon?\u201d With a knowing twinkle in his eye, the minister replied, \u201cIf you hadn\u2019t ordered me to be thrown in the dungeon, I would have been with you when you were captured. Finding me with no parts missing, the Kali worshippers would undoubtedly have used me as the human offering!\u201d Both the King and his minister laughed loudly, tears streaming down their faces. Glad to be alive, they agreed that if certainly was all the mercy of the Lord.<\/p>\n

Footnote; this story dos not imply that one should always judge the fortune of others as \u201cthe mercy of the Lord\u201d, but more that one should try to develop this vision for oneself.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STO-212-sec This story is relevant to the notion of seeing God\u2019s hand everywhere, and to \u2018the problem of evil\u2019. It could also be used to explore how we may not be able to determine the ultimate outcome of all situations, especially those that may appear to some to be negative. Once upon a time there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[287],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-values"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3576"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4100,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3576\/revisions\/4100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}