भवितव्यं भवत्येव नारिकेलफलाम्बुवत् ।
गन्तव्यं गतमित्याहुर्गजभुक्तकपित्थवत् ।।
bhavitavyaṁ bhavatyēva nārikēlaphalāmbuvat |
gantavyaṁ gatamityāhurgajabhuktakapitthavat ||
In the cosmic design what is included to happen will happen inevitably, and what is not in the cosmic design to happen will never happen in spite of all efforts to the contrary.

A coconut is designed to have sweet and flavorful water in it 10 to 60 feet (depending on the species) away from the ground where all the water is, but how does this water come inside the nut is the tree’s creation mystery. Rules of gravity prohibit the rise of water above 40 feet, but the tree manages to break a natural law!

Similarly, what is not designed to happen, will not happen. The example given here is of the Kapittha fruit (wood-apple). An elephant eats a Kapittha fruit whole. It does not break the fruit, and excretes it as it is, without causing any rupture. But if one examines the excreted fruit It will be found that the water which was inside there before being eaten is not there now. Where did the water go ?

A story follows : Once there was a King who one day went out hunting with his Chief Minister.

While using weapons of various kinds, the King happened to injure a finger on his hand and eventually lost it! The Chief Minister said to him, hoping to give the King some solace: “Whatever happens will lead to a beneficial result.” This angered the king and he ordered to imprison the Minister.

After many days, the King went hunting again. This time he was alone. In the deep forest he was caught by a tribe who practiced human sacrifice. They denuded the king and placed him near the sacrificial tripod.

The King had to wait in terror for a long time until the Head Priest came in to perform the sacrifice. The Priest examined the king and found out that a finger was missing in the “offering.” He rejected the King because only perfect bodies are used in sacrifice, and therefore the Priest asked his assistants to release the captive back into the forest. Thus the King was saved from death BECAUSE he had lost the finger in his previous injury. He offered prayers of thanks to God and went back to his palace.

The first thing the King did was to go and visit the former Chief Minister in prison to thank him for pointing out when the injury happened that it could lead to a beneficial result. The Minister’s words had come true. The King freed the Minister.

Then His Majesty apologized to the Minister for imprisoning him. He declared that the Minister will get back his old position.

The Minister said: I appreciate Your Majesty reinstating me, but there is no need to apologize for my imprisonment. In fact I need to thank you for imprisoning me.

The King could not believe his ears. He asked: Why is that so?

The Minister said: Suppose Your Majesty had not imprisoned me. Then I would definitely have accompanied you on your hunting trip. We both would have caught by the tribe who practice human sacrifice. They would have prepared you for the sacrifice. But then, seeing your disfigurement, they would have chosen me to be the sacrificial “victim” — the balimr̥gam as I have a perfect body. My imprisonment saved my life. That goes to prove my old dictum: Everything that happens will lead to a beneficial result in course of time. Bhavitavyaṁ bhavatyēva.