The Echo of Anger

One day, a proud courtier asked Emperor Akbar, “Why do people treat me with harshness, even when I speak plainly?” Akbar, sensing an opportunity for a lesson, asked Birbal to guide him.

The next morning, Birbal took the courtier to the edge of the hills outside the city. The valley below echoed with every sound. Birbal said, “Shout whatever you feel into the valley.”

The courtier, still irritated, shouted angrily: “You fool!”

The echo came back “You fool!”

He shouted again, louder this time: “I hate you!”
The hills shouted back: “I hate you!”

The courtier frowned. “Even the mountains insult me now?”

Birbal smiled. “Now, try again this time, speak with joy.”

Confused, the courtier shouted cheerfully, “I love you!”

Back came the words: “I love you!”

He laughed in surprise.

Birbal turned to him and said, “The world is like this valley it echoes back what you send into it. Anger returns anger. Kindness returns kindness. If you want warmth, speak warmth.”

That evening, Akbar listened to the story and nodded with approval. “The heart of the world beats in response to our own voice,” he said.

Moral: What you give to the world in tone, thought, or word is what it returns to you.