Once, a king visited the soldiers' mess hall (langar khana) and checked the cleanliness, which was up to mark. He then asked what had been cooked for the soldiers. The answer came: "Bataon", meaning eggplant. The king became furious, questioning why such low-quality food was prepared for the soldiers. His advisor immediately went to extremes in disparaging the eggplant, criticizing it relentlessly. In any case, the mess commander apologized and promised not to cook eggplants in the future and to prepare better food instead, after which the king left the mess hall.
After some time, the king happened to visit the soldiers' mess hall again. Coincidentally, eggplants had been cooked on that day as well. This time, the king praised the eggplant. The same advisor was with him, and he went beyond all limits in praising the benefits of the eggplant, as if no other vegetable or dish could ever match it. The mess commander was delighted and promised to cook eggplants regularly and continuously from then on. The king turned to the advisor and said, "That day when I criticized the eggplant, you left no stone unturned in speaking ill of it. Today, when I praised it, you have left no stone unturned in its praise. Why?" He replied, "Your Majesty, I am your servant, not the eggplant's."
Hearing this, the king said, "Sycophants like you do not allow the truth to come to light, because of which rulers become arrogant, and consequently, they fail to deliver justice. The murder of justice is the sole cause of the downfall of nations."
At first, the flatterer remained silent, but then he said, "Your Majesty, if my life is spared, may I make a submission?" The king said, "Speak, what do you wish to say?" "Your Majesty, those who speak the truth and right have always lost their lives."
The king replied, "Remember, truth and right are far more precious than life. Death is bound to come one day anyway. If you die speaking the truth, you will live forever. Yes, by lying or stamping your approval on falsehood, you might remain alive physically, but curses and disgrace will remain the destiny of such a life."
اناس میمن پلانپوری
