After living in exile for a year, the prince felt anxious to return to his kingdom. He felt that now he had learned a lot, but his insistence could not stop before the Guru’s orders. Forced, he again started towards the same dense forest, where silence was the greatest teacher. Days passed.
The sounds of rustling trees, chirping of birds and blowing wind continued to appear to him the same as before. No new experience, no new feeling. Uneasiness started creeping into the mind of the Prince. Was this the education for which he was again sent to the forest?
One day he decided that now he would listen with his heart and not just with his ears. He silenced the noise within him and started receiving every sound with full attention. Then one morning, when the forest was just waking up from sleep, he started hearing some unknown, very subtle sounds. These voices started reaching the soul more than the ears. His sensitivity increased with time. Now he started hearing the silent sound of buds blooming.
The sunrays descending on the earth began to seem like a soft melody to him. There was song in the flight of butterflies and the leaves of grass drank the morning dew as if nature itself was communicating. After a few days the Prince appeared at the feet of the Guru. He said humbly, “Gurudev, as long as I kept listening superficially, I did not get anything new, but the day I learned to listen carefully, I started hearing everything that was not in words.”
The Guru smiled and said, “This is the lesson. The ruler who listens to the unspoken pain, understands the feelings without speaking, is the true king. The ability to listen to the unheard voices is the foundation of public trust.” This teaches us that true leadership is born not by giving orders but by sensitive listening, only he who listens to the unsaid rules the hearts of the people.
