Bhishma makes a decision
Modern Bhishma makes a decision
King Shantnu was pacing the long hallway of his palace. His mind was somewhere else, actually far away onto the shores of Ganges. All he could see was that beautiful girl - Satyavati, emitting the most captivating fragrance that he has ever known. "What beautiful eyes! What captivating smile! What a special person she is!" He thought again and again. His heart was thumping. Only if he could marry her! But how? Not after all the conditions that her father has put forward for the marriage. And his mind once again heard the old fisherman's voice loud and clear. "Oh Respected King. It is truly an honor to have you as my son-in-law but I feel that as a father of Satyavati, it is my duty to insure my daughter's happiness for today and forever. I know that you have a young son from the previous marriage, who is a prince and he will become the future king. Of course, I am happy about that. But then what will happen to my daughter's progeny? Her first-born will not stand a chance to become the king and then God forbid, when you are not there, my daughter can not command the respect she had as a Queen - under the rule of her step-son. No, I am sorry. I can't let that happen to my daughter."
Devvrat, his grown and beloved son is the problem, King Shantnu thought to himself. "But what can I do? He is fully qualified to become the next King. He has a sharp intellect, unparalleled strength in archery, wisdom beyond his age and he is loved by everyone in the kingdom. On top of that, only recently, I appointed him as Yuvraj and promised him the kingdom." Devvrat is the right choice to become the future king. But when he thought of the beauty of Satyvati, he was pulled to her in a way that had never happened before.The more he thought, the more agitated he became.
Just then his Adviser - The Mantri - walked in. Seeing the King in deep thoughts he asked if there is anything he can help with. Shantnu reluctantly gave him the information to seek his advice. "There is a way" Mantri said after a bit of thinking. "What if you ask the Prince to give up his claim to the throne? He loves you and respects you so much that he will do whatever you will ask him to do.
"But it is not fair" murmured the King.
"Oh my dear King. Haven't you heard that in love and war everything is fair?"
"What are you two talking about? Who are you not fair to?" entered Devvrata shocking the King and the Mantri. He had returned early from his hunting trip, catching both of them in total surprise since his arrival was not due until next week.
Slowly and reluctantly, Shantnu told the entire story - adding the suggested advise from the Mantri. Devvrata was overcome by the sadness that he saw in his father's eyes. In his strong emotional state of mind, he was about to denounce his claim to the throne but he remembered the decision making process that he had learnt at his Gurukul while doing his MKA (Master of King Administration). His Guru had emohasized, "While faced with a big decision, first rule is to wait. Do not rush. Weigh all the factors, analyze future forecasts, and projected results. Create models, calculate what is at stake, consider the opportunity cost. In fact, his Guru had also given him a computer to compute all future possibilities - pros and cons of any decision. So he stopped and controlled his emotions.
Seeing him so quiet, King Shantnu got alarmed. But he kept his hopes up. After all, Devvrat was an ideal son - always devoted to the kingdom and more specifically to the King, his father. He will not deny such a request. Or would he? Again Shantnu's mind wandered off to the fragrant Satyavati.
Finally, after a long silence, Devvrat spoke, "Daddy, you know I would love to help you out but making a quick decision may not be a wise way to handle the situation. Please give me some time to think. Also let me play with some 'what-if' situations on my new computer and see various options." Next day, the Prince came to see the King early in the morning. He said, " I thought about it all night and I also played by extrapolating different situations, I came up with a decision. I think you will be proud to know that all of your training and your investment in my Gurukul training and my computer has not gone to waste. When I plugged in all the data for yours, mine and our kingdom's best interest, and entered some hypothesis about the future, I realized that the best decision is to appoint a committee of six best minds in the country and wait for their report. If we push, we can get the report within a year".
The King was angry at himself for training his son how to make any important decision. The father and the son sat in the morning sun, with a cup of tea, to pick names of the best brains in the country.
King Shantnu was pacing the long hallway of his palace. His mind was somewhere else, actually far away onto the shores of Ganges. All he could see was that beautiful girl - Satyavati, emitting the most captivating fragrance that he has ever known. "What beautiful eyes! What captivating smile! What a special person she is!" He thought again and again. His heart was thumping. Only if he could marry her! But how? Not after all the conditions that her father has put forward for the marriage. And his mind once again heard the old fisherman's voice loud and clear. "Oh Respected King. It is truly an honor to have you as my son-in-law but I feel that as a father of Satyavati, it is my duty to insure my daughter's happiness for today and forever. I know that you have a young son from the previous marriage, who is a prince and he will become the future king. Of course, I am happy about that. But then what will happen to my daughter's progeny? Her first-born will not stand a chance to become the king and then God forbid, when you are not there, my daughter can not command the respect she had as a Queen - under the rule of her step-son. No, I am sorry. I can't let that happen to my daughter."
Devvrat, his grown and beloved son is the problem, King Shantnu thought to himself. "But what can I do? He is fully qualified to become the next King. He has a sharp intellect, unparalleled strength in archery, wisdom beyond his age and he is loved by everyone in the kingdom. On top of that, only recently, I appointed him as Yuvraj and promised him the kingdom." Devvrat is the right choice to become the future king. But when he thought of the beauty of Satyvati, he was pulled to her in a way that had never happened before.The more he thought, the more agitated he became.
Just then his Adviser - The Mantri - walked in. Seeing the King in deep thoughts he asked if there is anything he can help with. Shantnu reluctantly gave him the information to seek his advice. "There is a way" Mantri said after a bit of thinking. "What if you ask the Prince to give up his claim to the throne? He loves you and respects you so much that he will do whatever you will ask him to do.
"But it is not fair" murmured the King.
"Oh my dear King. Haven't you heard that in love and war everything is fair?"
"What are you two talking about? Who are you not fair to?" entered Devvrata shocking the King and the Mantri. He had returned early from his hunting trip, catching both of them in total surprise since his arrival was not due until next week.
Slowly and reluctantly, Shantnu told the entire story - adding the suggested advise from the Mantri. Devvrata was overcome by the sadness that he saw in his father's eyes. In his strong emotional state of mind, he was about to denounce his claim to the throne but he remembered the decision making process that he had learnt at his Gurukul while doing his MKA (Master of King Administration). His Guru had emohasized, "While faced with a big decision, first rule is to wait. Do not rush. Weigh all the factors, analyze future forecasts, and projected results. Create models, calculate what is at stake, consider the opportunity cost. In fact, his Guru had also given him a computer to compute all future possibilities - pros and cons of any decision. So he stopped and controlled his emotions.
Seeing him so quiet, King Shantnu got alarmed. But he kept his hopes up. After all, Devvrat was an ideal son - always devoted to the kingdom and more specifically to the King, his father. He will not deny such a request. Or would he? Again Shantnu's mind wandered off to the fragrant Satyavati.
Finally, after a long silence, Devvrat spoke, "Daddy, you know I would love to help you out but making a quick decision may not be a wise way to handle the situation. Please give me some time to think. Also let me play with some 'what-if' situations on my new computer and see various options." Next day, the Prince came to see the King early in the morning. He said, " I thought about it all night and I also played by extrapolating different situations, I came up with a decision. I think you will be proud to know that all of your training and your investment in my Gurukul training and my computer has not gone to waste. When I plugged in all the data for yours, mine and our kingdom's best interest, and entered some hypothesis about the future, I realized that the best decision is to appoint a committee of six best minds in the country and wait for their report. If we push, we can get the report within a year".
The King was angry at himself for training his son how to make any important decision. The father and the son sat in the morning sun, with a cup of tea, to pick names of the best brains in the country.
Perfect representation of today's corporate it political decision making process. My stomach still hurts from your humorous style of writing...
ReplyDeleteThank you Vasanthi ji! Glad when others enjoy what you write so I appreciate your comment.
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