The story of an ancient Persian who lived not far from the River Indus as told by Cornwell, retold by Murori Kiunga and here I retell it. His name was Al Hafed. Al Hafed owned a very large farm with Orchards, grain fields and gardens. He was a contented and wealthy man - contented because he was wealthy and wealthy because he was contended.
One day, an old farmer who was also a Buddhist priest visited Al Hafed. They sat by the fire and he told Al Hafed how the world was made.
He said that the world was once a mere bank of fog. The Almighty thrust his finger into the bank of fog and then began slowly to move his finger around. Gradually he increased the speed. At last, he whirled the bank of fog into a solid ball of fire, which went rolling through the universe.
The ball of fire burnt its way through other cosmic banks of fog, until it condensed the moisture outside. It then fell in floods of rain upon the heated surface, cooling the outward crust.
Then the internal flames burst through the cooling crust and threw up the mountains and made the hills and the valleys. If this internal melted mass burst out and cooled very quickly, it became granite. That which cooled slowly became silver; and even slower was gold. But that which cooled slowest was diamond.
"A diamond is a congealed drop of sunlight," said the priest.
He declared that a diamond is the last and highest of God's mineral creations. The old priest told Al Hafed that if he had a handful of diamonds he could purchase the whole country; and that with a mine of diamonds, he could place his children upon thrones through influence of great wealth.
Al Hafed was mesmerized at all this. He was awed with diamonds and their worth.
That night, Al Hafed went to bed a poor man. Not that he had lost anything, but poor because he was discontented and discontented because he was poor. "I want a mine of Diamonds!" he shouted into the night. He lay awake all night, and early in the morning sought out the priest.
Al Hafed awoke the old priest from his dreams. "Will you tell me where I can find diamonds?"he asked.
"Diamonds? What do you want with diamonds?"the old priest seemed surprised.
"I want to be immensely rich," said AL Hafed, but I don't know where to look for
the diamonds."
"Well," said the priest. "If you find a river that runs over white sands between high mountains, in those sands you will always see diamonds."
"Do you really believe that there is such a river?"
"Plenty of them, plenty of them." said the priest. "All you have to do is just find them, then you have them."
"I will go find it," Al Hafed said.
He sold his farm, left his family with a neighbor, and away he went in search of diamonds.
He began at the Mountains of the Moon. Afterwards he went into and around Palestine,Europe.
At last, his money was spent. He was in rags, wretched and poor. He stood on the shores of the Barcelona bay, when a tidal wave came rolling in through the Pillars of Hercules. The poor, afflicted, suffering man could not resist the awful temptation to cast himself into the incoming tide. He sank beneath its foaming crest, never to rise in this life again.
One day the man who bought Al Hafed's land led his camel out into the garden to drink. As the camel put its nose down into the clear water of the garden brook, he noticed a curious flash of light from the sands of the shallow stream. Reaching down, he pulled out a black stone. The stone had an eye of light that reflected all the colors of the rainbow. The man took the curious black pebble into the house and left it on the mantel. He then went out to his work.
A few days later, the same old priest who had told Al Hafed how diamonds are made, came to visit. he immediately noticed a flash of light from the mantel. He rushed up to the mantel.
"A diamond! Here is a diamond!" the priest looked at the man "Has Al Hafed returned?"
"No, no," said the man. "Al Hafed has not returned and that is not a diamond. That is nothing but a stone; I found it right here in this garden. I bought the garden from Al Hafed."
"But I know a diamond when I see one," said the priest with a glint in his eye. That is a diamond!"
Together, the priest and the new landlord rushed out into the garden. they stirred up the sands at the river with their fingers and found other more beautiful, more valuable diamonds than the first.
Thus were discovered the diamond mines of Golconda, the most magnificent diamond mines in all the history of humankind, exceeding even the Kimberly mines in their value.
Instead of wretchedness, poverty and death in a strange land, Al Hafed had all he needed to be the richest man ever. If only he remained home and dug in his own cellar or his own garden, he would have had diamonds forever.
Every acre, every shovel of that old farm afterwards revealed the gems which have since decorated the crowns of monarchs worldwide.
I finish the story with a quote i was spoken to a week ago by Maarifa Ndekezi; I wish you could realize the potential that lies within you.
