The rich man's sons

A rich man once said to a friend, “I am so sorry that neither of my sons is pleasing me. One is a fool. The other is extra smart, but because of his smartness he is always getting into trouble.”

His friend asked, “In what way is one a fool and the other so smart?”

The rich man said, “One only remains in silence. The other one mixes with everyone and then creates all kinds of problems. Can you advise me what I should do about my sons? One is too smart for his own good, and the other one seems to be only a fool.”

The friend said, “An ordinary crow mixes with many other crows, but a cuckoo mixes with very few birds.”

The rich man said, “What do you mean?”

The friend explained, “Your son who does not mix with others is wise. He knows that this world is full of corruption, so he remains silent. He is very simple, kind and sincere. He remains quiet and always prays and meditates, for he knows that this world has nothing to give him. Again, the one that mixes all the time is truly intelligent. He knows that he will be able to accept the world’s corruption because he is your son. Even if he falls into bad company, he feels that because his father is rich and great, he will be saved. He will be able to escape any problems because of your money-power. One thinks only of God, because God alone is happiness, Truth and Light. The other feels that he will never get in trouble because of his father’s wealth.”

The rich man said, “So I have one son who is kind-hearted and sincere, and I have another son who is extra smart in the inner and outer sense. He knows that he will be able to fool society. God wants one son to be happy by being pure and wise and the other to be happy by being extremely intelligent. And God wants me to be happy by playing the role of the fool. God always has to complete the family. If there is a wise member in the family and an intelligent member, then there must be a fool in the family as well. So God has made me the foolish member.”