The Jungle King

(Upanishadic story)

One man was wending his way through the jungle. He strayed off the proper footpath and fell off of a cliff that was hidden by dense overgrowth.

The shock of falling caused instant amnesia. However, he was otherwise unhurt because he'd fallen into a net. The net trap had been set by some jungle tribe whose king had just died. Their policy was, when the king died, they set a net trap at the bottom of the cliff, and whoever fell into it would be declared the new king.

So because the man had lost his memory, he had no objection to being crowned king of that tribe. Gradually he learned the local language and took part in all the dance ceremonies.

Some time later the man's brother ventured into the jungle to find him. This brother also fell off the same cliff, but as there was no net at the bottom, he was in-jured. Some of the natives found him and brought him to the village, where he was nursed back to health.

The brother was very happy to see his dear relation again, but unfortunately there was no recognition on the other's part. And since the brother-king could no longer speak the language of his family, there was very little means of communication.

But through perseverance, the newly-arrived brother managed to get through to the king. Slowly, the sound of the language of his brother, and the sound of his voice, began to unlock inner memories. It began to dawn on him that he was not really a king, but belonged to another family, another culture.

However, because in the meantime he'd become so attached to his kingship, he also couldn't face the prospect of having to give that up for his old way of life. And so he became silent. He stopped taking part in his kingly duties, but could not leave the tribe. More or less, he became mad.