This Short Story, “The Case of Ambition (Shahjahan in Prison),” is taken from the Parables of Rama. The fable reminds us how we cling to our nature and habits and look for change without changing them.
In India, the Emperor, Shahjahan, was put into prison by his son Aurangzeb.
Shahjhan built The Taj Mahal in the memory of his loving wife Mumtaj. It’s one of the UNESCO protected sites and is listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
He was imprisoned because his son wanted to possess the whole kingdom. The son put his father into prison so that he might satisfy his hunger after lucre. At one time the father wrote to his son to send him some students so that he might amuse himself by teaching them something.
Then the son said, “Will you hear this fellow, my father? He has been ruling over the kingdom for so many years and even now he cannot give up his old habit of ruling. He still wants to rule over students, he wants somebody to rule. He cannot give up his old habits.” So it is. How can we give up our old habits?
Aurangzeb was the last powerful and longest reigning Mughal emperor who was full of tyranny and have killed family member to gain the power of the then most powerful kingdom in the world. The word Mogul actually comes from Mughal empire.
The old habits cling to us. We cannot shake it off. The real Self of yours, the emperor Shah-e-Jahan (the literal meaning of the word is, ruler of the whole world, and so the name of that Emperor Shah-e-Jahan, means the Emperor of the whole Universe) is the Emperor of the Universe. Now, you have put the Emperor into a prison, into the black hole of your body, into the quarantine of your little self. How can that real Self, that Emperor of the Universe, forget his old habits? How can he give up his nature?
Nobody is capable of shaking off his nature. Nobody can jump out of his nature. So the Atman, the True Self, the real Reality in you,—how can that give up its nature? You have confined that in prison, but even in the prison it wants to possess the whole world because it has been possessing the whole; it cannot give up its old habits. If you wish this ambitious spirit, the avarice should be shaken off, if you desire that the people in this world should give up this ambitious nature, could you preach to them to give it up? Impossible!
MORAL: People are ambitious because they cannot go against the all-possessing nature of the soul or true self.
Nonetheless, the Title Short Story – The Case of Ambition (Shahjahan in Prison), is a beautiful tale of innocence and faith. The Unknowable expresses itself in infinite forms, and it comes to those who seek its refuge with a pure heart. When you drop the veil of Maya and see life as it is, you will find yourself, and in the process, you will find the absolute. That is why, a lot of people who once have tasted the money and success, go insane when they lose them and can become tyrannt to acheive them back. It’s all about the nature of humans and how we reach on it makes a difference.
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P.S. – We have not written the Short Story – The Case of Ambition (Shahjahan in Prison). All the credits of the story are to the rightful owner. Another aim to put up such short stories is to inspire students from ESL (English as Second Language) countries to develop reading habits and improve their worldviews. Voxcel is an educational platform, thus we make efforts so they can change lives.
We aim to not only teach IELTS and English language courses or help the students/clients to travel the world or secure their visas, but we ensure that we impart wisdom to them and in this way, we grow with them together.
Voxcel aims to impart not only world-class IELTS coaching but also we look forward to develop the overall personality of our students.