Who carries bad luck?

One day early in the morning the Emperor Akbar met with one of his subjects. Later that day something unfortunate happened. While the Emperor was having breakfast, he ate a strand of hair that was in his food. He said that just because he had seen that particular man, this had happened and he wanted the man to be punished. Some others in the Emperor’s court agreed that this man carried very bad luck. Akbar said, “Then he should be hanged.”

The poor man was supposed to be hanged the following day. He knew that the Emperor’s court minister was aware of his plight. He went to the minister and begged him for help, but the minister said, “The Emperor wants to kill you. How can I dare to save you? Impossible!”

“No, you must save me, you must save me,” begged the man.

“How?” said the court minister. “I can’t.” Then suddenly the minister whispered something in the man’s ear.

The following day the time came for the man to be hanged. Akbar said, “Are you ready?”

The man said, “Lord, you are saying that because you saw me, your fate became most deplorable. Now, can I not also say that because I saw you, my fate has become even more deplorable? If I had not seen you, I would not be facing my death. I may have caused you some bad luck, but in my life you have caused me worse luck. You will stay on earth but I have to die. So who carries the worse luck?”

The Emperor said, “I have lost the case,” and the man was set free.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Great Indian meals: divinely delicious and supremely nourishing, part 10, Agni Press, 1982
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/gim_10