An emperor was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, "What do you want?" the beggar laughed and said, "You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire." The emperor was offended. He said, "Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me." And the beggar said, "Think twice before you promise anything." The beggar was no ordinary beggar. So he insisted, "I will fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor, what can you possibly desire that I can not give to you?" The beggar said, "It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?"
The emperor said, "Of course!" He called one of his viziers and told him, "Fill this man's begging bowl with money." The vizier went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. And he poured more and more, but the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. And the begging bowl remained always empty.
The whole palace gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the whole capital, and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake. He said to his viziers, "If the whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be defeated by this beggar."
Diamonds and pearls and emeralds, his treasuries were becoming empty. The begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into it - everything - immediately disappeared, and went out of existence. Finally it was evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence. The emperor dropped himself at the feet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. He said, "Just tell me one thing. You are victorious - but before you leave, just fulfill my curiosity. What is the begging bowl made of?"
The beggar laughed and said, "It is made up of the human desire. There is no secret. It is simply made up of human desire." Mark my words :
"This understanding transforms one's life. - Take the example of a single desire e;g the desire for a kingdom which gets fulfilled after much effort : First there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure.
Something is going to happen; you are on the verge of it. And then you have your chariot and your palace and all the diamonds of the world. The whole kingdom is yours.
What happens after some time ? Suddenly all is meaningless again. Your mind has dematerialized it.
The chariot is standing in the driveway, but there is no excitement anymore. The excitement was only in getting it. You became so drunk with the desire that you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the chariot in the driveway, the diamonds in your very hands - again excitement disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you have to create another desire to escape this yawning abyss.
That's how one moves from one desire to another desire. That's how one remains a beggar, in reality it is truly you who is the beggar, your whole life proves it again and again - every desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved, you will need another desire to move you on.
The day one understands that no fulfilled desire in this life is going to end the emptiness in one's heart becomes a turning point in one's life, and one repeats the fulfilling words : " I am content with all that my Lord the most high has provided me"
The other journey is to your Lord which you cannot escape. "He created the heavens and the earth in just proportions and has given you shape, and has made your shapes beautiful: and to Him is the final return."
Noble Qur'an profoundly teaches that: Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest! Noble Qur'an (13:28)
Saying these words the beggar left the king's palace brewing a storm in the hearts of all those who were present.
--
Ibn 'Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنه narrated:
I heard the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saying, "If the son of Adam (the human being) had two valleys of money, he would wish for a third, for nothing can fill the belly of Adam's son except dust, and Allah forgives him who repents to Him."
“…So, fight your desires at a time when you can eat. The soul is never satisfied. Satisfying your desires is like satisfying the thirsty person who went to drink water from the sea - the more he drinks, the thirstier he gets, since the water is salty.
No comments:
Post a Comment