The adopted son

There were two brothers who lived in two different villages. The two brothers were very close to each other. One day the younger brother came to visit the older brother. He saw that the older brother had adopted a little boy. He said, “What have you done? Have you not heard that adopted children always turn out to be very bad? People say that they destroy the whole family.”

Because the older brother did not have any children of his own, he had adopted this child. The older brother said, “No, I think my case will be an exception.”

The younger brother said, “There is no exception.”

A few days later the younger brother went home. The older brother was lavishing and lavishing affection and compassion on his adopted son, treating him absolutely like a prince. And every day the son was becoming more and more notorious in every way.

One day the elder brother decided he would visit his younger brother. When he was almost at his place, the older brother saw that the younger brother was now living in a very small house. The older brother said to the younger brother, “What are you doing here? You had such a big house. What happened?”

The younger brother said, “My son is so greedy! He took all my money and everything that I had. Then he kicked me out, so I am staying in this small house. You see, even my own son has misbehaved so badly. I cannot imagine how much you will suffer since you adopted a son. My own son has thrown me out of the house, and he has taken all my property. He is enjoying his own life with his wife and children. So I can scarcely imagine how much you will suffer!”

The older brother said, “No, no, I am not suffering at all.”

The younger brother said, “How is it that you are not suffering?”

The elder brother said, “I was sick for quite a few days. Then my adopted son did something so good.”

“What did he do?”

“He gave me poison, and I died. Now I am so happy in Heaven. My adopted son was torturing me like anything. Then, when I fell sick, he wanted to get all my money and all my property, so he put poison in my food and I died. Now I am so happy!”

How could this happen? The subtle body of the elder brother had come to visit the younger brother, taking exactly the same form as the physical body. Every day the adopted son had been torturing his father. Finally, the adopted son had given him poison and killed him. The father was so happy in Heaven, whereas on earth he had been absolutely miserable.