Once there was a kingdom that was ruled by a man who thought he was a great philosopher. He had studied all the great minds and he had come to the conclusion that religion was nonsense…unacceptable nonsense. There was, he said, no such thing as heaven or hell.
This king held so tight to it that he made it his doctrine: the law of the land. From that day on, he decreed that it was against the law to speak of heaven and hell. It was a crime punishable by death. No one could ever speak of these things again in his kingdom.
One day it happened that a holy man traveled to the domain of the king. He stood on a street corner and preached about heaven and hell. Someone shouted to him, “Friend! Keep calm! If the palace guard hears you talking like that, you will be dragged to court and punished!”But the holy man just smiled and kept talking about heaven and hell.
And as soon as the guards heard about it, the holy man was dragged before the king. “How dare you preach about heaven and hell, a subject I have banned?” the king asked the holy man, “Do you think I am discussing philosophy with a jester like you?” the holy man replied. No one has ever dared to speak to the king in such a way. Immediately the king arose, shouting to his guards, “Seize him! And kill him!”
The holy man raised his hand and said, “Sire! Please! Listen to me for a moment. You are furious. Your mind burns with hate. Your face is red and the blood traces the race of anger. Your heart burns with fury… with the fury to kill. Right now you are in hell!”
The king stopped and remained motionless, struck by what the holy man had said. And yes, it was true…he was furious…his face was red and his blood raced…and his mind and heart were furious…burning with hate.
And suddenly he put his hands on his face and was sitting on his throne again. He realized that hell was not a place where the body burns, but where the spirit is burned. And then, with tears in his eyes, he looked at the holy man and said, “To think that you risked your life to teach me this great truth…. Oh, Master. Can you forgive me? And the holy man said, “And, Sire, there is also a paradise… and now you are there.”