Birbal had unparallel sense of wit. It was his sense of intelligence and wit that brought Birbal so close to the Emperor.

One day Akbar was in quite a relaxed mood and was enjoying the company of Birbal. Suddenly the Emperor spread his both palm and noticed that there was no hair on his palms.
He asked, “Birbal, Can you tell me why there is no hair on my palms?”
Birbal gave a pleasing answer, “Jahaanpanaah, the reason is very simple. Everyday you donate generously to the poor and needy people with both of your hands. How can hair grow on such giving palms?”
Akbar was pleased with his answer.

However the King decided to pull his leg for giving such a pleasing answer, so he asked him again - “If it’s so, then why there is no hair on your palm?”
Birbal at once replied, “Jahaanpanaah, Its reason is very simple. Hair of my palm has vanished due to continuous acceptance of gifts and rewards from you.” The clever answer of Birbal made the Emperor more eager to outfit Birbal.

So he asked again, “Now you must tell me why there is no hair on the hands of other courtiers?”
Birbal was too smart to be outwitted by anybody, he promptly answered, “Your majesty, the answer is obvious. Wherever I get rewards from you, the other courtiers rub their hands out of disappointment and envy. The continuous rub does not allow the hair to grow on their hands.”

Now Akbar had no question to ask him. He was indeed very pleased by his answers.

Spiritual Comments
There is some spiritual importance of this Akbar-Birbal  joke. When I give something to a disciple my love-power increases, and when that person receives devotedly from me his gratitude-power increases. Whatever I give goes to the disciple in the form of love; and while receiving, what he offers in return comes to me in the form of gratitude. But if those who do not get something at that time become jealous, they simply delay their own progress by being jealous.

When I am giving spiritual wealth to a particular disciple, the others can easily feel that it is they who are giving. And while the disciple is receiving that power from me, they can feel that it is they who are receiving this wealth. If they can identify themselves with my offering and, at the same time, with the devoted qualities of the receiver, then they become the giver as well as the receiver. Identification is not illusion. Identification is not deception. In the spiritual life one must always try to identify himself with the Truth that is coming from above and trying to manifest itself here on earth. Identification with Light and Truth is the only important thing in life. When a disciple identifies himself with his Master’s consciousness, he becomes one with the Creator. And when he identifies himself with his fellow disciples, he becomes one with the creation. When he becomes inseparably one with both the Creator and the creation, he gets the utmost joy.

By being jealous of what the giver has or of what a receiver gets, one can never have joy or peace of mind. In order to be constantly happy, one has to identify himself with Reality’s Source and Reality’s Course, with Reality’s Glow and Reality’s Flow. Reality’s Source is the Master; Reality’s Course is the disciple. Reality’s Glow is the Master, Reality's Flow is the Disciple.

The End