Long ago, there was a king who was reading his birth chart. It said that he was born at an auspicious moment, destined to be a ruler. Curious, the king thought,
“At the very moment I was born, many other children must have been born around the world too, so why did only I become a king and not them?”
This question deeply puzzled him. The next day, he summoned all his scholars, priests, and astrologers to his royal court and asked them the same question. Everyone fell silent; no one had an answer.
Then an old astrologer stood up and said,
“Your Majesty, this is a profound question. The answer cannot be found here. You must travel far into the deep forest, where a great sage resides. Only he can reveal this mystery.”
The king immediately decided to set out alone. After several days of journeying, he reached the dense forest. There he saw a sage eating burning embers straight from the fire. Shocked, the king gathered courage and asked,
“O great sage, I wish to know, if many are born at the same time, why does only one become a king?”
The sage grew angry. “Foolish man! I will not answer you. Go further ahead, near the waterfall you will find another sage in meditation. He will give you your answer.”
The king rode on and reached the waterfall. There he saw another ascetic who was tearing and eating his own flesh. The sight was horrifying, but the king’s curiosity was stronger than his fear. He repeated his question.
The second sage also became angry. “I cannot answer that. Go far away to a small village. There a five-year-old boy is about to die. Before he leaves his body, he will tell you the truth.”
The king was astonished. Two sages, now a dying child! Yet he did not give up. He galloped to the village and found a house full of sorrow. The child lay weak and pale, surrounded by weeping family members. Despite his frailty, his eyes shone with peace.
The king knelt beside him and softly asked,
“My child, they say you can answer my question. Why don’t all people born at the same moment become kings?”
The boy smiled faintly and said,
“Your Majesty, the two sages you met and I and you yourself, we were all brothers seven lifetimes ago. We were four princes. Once, while wandering in a forest, we were starving. We found a small pouch of flour and made some flatbreads. Just as we were about to eat, an old saint came by, asking for food.
Our eldest brother, the one who now eats embers, said, ‘Why should I share? What will I eat then?’
The second, the one eating his own flesh, said, ‘Should I give him food and eat my own body instead?’
I too refused to share.
But you… you gave half of your bread to the saint.
That saint was no ordinary man; he was a realized soul. He blessed you, saying, ‘In your next birth, you shall be a king.’
And now you see, we are each living the result of our past deeds. You received the throne; we suffer our chosen fates.”
With that, the boy smiled peacefully and breathed his last.
The king’s eyes filled with tears. At last, he understood that it is not the moment of birth that shapes destiny, but the actions (karma) that follow.
Just as a phone will not unlock with the wrong password, destiny does not open its door with wrong deeds.
To become what we wish to be, we must choose the path of righteousness, hard work, and compassion.
That is the true “Royal Yoga,” the path of divine success.
Moral of the Story 
Our lives are not solely determined by planetary alignments or the time of our birth. Karma, our actions, thoughts, and intentions across lifetimes is the true architect of destiny.
What we do in one life creates ripples that shape the circumstances of our next. Good deeds bring grace and progress; selfishness and cruelty bring suffering.
Thus, every moment is an opportunity to rewrite our future, not through fate, but through our present karma.
