ONE man after having lost his wealth prayed to God and got a boon that from dawn to dusk on the following day, whatever land he covers by running, can be owned by him. The man started running at dawn and kept running even after he covered more than what he lost. He refused to heed his body’s pleas for rest and food. His mind was filled with thoughts of the land owned by his neighbours and relatives. By evening he felt dizzy and weak. In the distance, he saw a burial ground and a river flowing beyond it. He was very happy at the thought of owning a river and a place where he and his progeny could be buried and decided that he would stop after he reached the river. Just as the sun was about to set, he reached the river.
He bent down to sip some water. The moment his lips touched the water, he dropped dead of exhaustion. They buried him in the burial ground he had crossed!
This is how we all live our lives. We run the race without even stopping to think why we are running. We travel in the horizontal dimension of thinking ‘what next’ all the time. This is what causes us to run. As long as we are moving in this horizontal line, we will run till we drop dead in our grave. Travelling from more to more is only travelling towards our grave. It is just slow death! It can never be life.
It is possible to satisfy our needs, but it becomes impossible to satisfy our wants because, they are changing and unclear all the time. Every time one want is fulfilled, a hundred more come up.
Ramana Maharishi says: Till you get something you want, it looks as big as a mountain. Once you get it, the same thing becomes the size of a mustard seed!
Always, as long as we are chasing something, it seems that it is worth the whole world; but after we get it, somehow it is not important any longer! If we become aware of ourselves and understand what exactly we want, and try to do that alone, we will never find ourselves in this kind of a self-contradictory and fragmented situation. And let me tell you….. Most of the time we do not get what we like, so we have to decide to like what we get.
Never think, let me work now, I can enjoy later! I tell you, it will never happen.
Every tomorrow comes in the form of today only.
Doing should lead to being every moment, only then we are on the right track.
It is now or never.
We all run throughout our lives thinking that we can enjoy later,
but we land up running into the graveyard.
So don’t postpone living. Celebrate! It is now or never. Be Blissful
