Consistency is the hallmark of the unimaginative.
Oscar Wilde
Consistent Man
A Sufi story… Mulla Nasruddin is appointed as the prime minister of a king because he was known to be very wise; somewhat weird was his wisdom, but still, wisdom is wisdom. The first day when they went to have their dinner together, a certain vegetable called bindhi was made by the cook, stuffed with Eastern spices. It is a delicacy.
The king appreciated the cook, and after that Mulla said, in appreciation of the bindhi, “This is the most precious vegetable in the world. It gives you long life, it keeps you healthy, it gives you resistance against diseases,” and so on and so forth.
The king said, “I never knew that you know so much about vegetables.”
The cook heard about it, so he thought if bindhi is such a thing that our king can live long and healthy and young… Next day again bindhi was made, and again Mulla praised it, going even higher than the first day. The third day bindhi was made and Mulla went still higher. The fourth day bindhi was made and Mulla was going higher and higher. The fifth day Mulla even said that bindhi is a divine food — God eats only bindhi.
But the king was bored. He threw the plate of bindhi and told Mulla Nasruddin, “You are an idiot. Bindhi… and God eats bindhi every day? You will drive me mad!”
Mulla said, “Lord, you are getting unnecessarily hot. I am your servant; you said bindhi was good, I simply followed you, and when I do something I do it perfectly. I am not a servant to bindhi, I am your servant. The truth is that bindhi is the worst thing in the world – even devils don’t eat it. You did well that you threw it.”
He threw his plate farther away than the king. He said, “You should always remember that I am your servant, and you are always right. And I am a consistent man; I will remain consistently your servant, whatever happens.”
Tags: Mulla NasruddinRelationships feed on credibility, honesty, and consistency.
Scott Borchetta
