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The Beggar 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 king 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, he was the emporers past life master. He had promised in that life, "I will come and try to wake you in your next life. This life you have missed but I will come again." But the king had forgotten completely -- who remembers past lives? 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 mans 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, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. And the beggging 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." Diamons 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, went out of existence. Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence. The king dropped at the fet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. he said, "Just tell me one thing. You are victorious - but before you leave, just fulfill my curiousity. What is the beging bowl made of?" The beggar laughed and said, "It is made up of the human mind. There is no secret. It is simple made up of human desire." This understanding transforms life. Go into one desire -- what is the mechanism of it? First there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure. you feel a great kick. Somehting is going to happen, you are on the verge of it. And then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the woman, and suddenly all is meaningless again. What happens? Your mind has dematerialised it. The car is standing in the drive, but there is no excitement anymore. The excitement was only in getting it. You became so drunk with the desire thah you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car in the drive, the woman in your bed, the money in your bank account - 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. Your whole life proves it again and again -- every desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved, you will need another desire. The day you understand that desire as such is going to fail comes the turning point in your life. The other journey is inwards. move inwards, come back home. |
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Categories: Advice Devotions [1] Anger Devotions [2] Animal Devotions [5] Art Devotions [1] Attitude Devotions [3] Beauty Devotions [16] Bible Devotions [7] Blessing Devotions [7] Challenge Devotions [6] Change Devotions [1] Character Devotions [5] Chicken Devotions [2] Children Devotions [39] Christian Devotions [2] Christmas Devotions [5] Church Devotions [3] College Devotions [2] Companionship Devotions [1] Complaint Devotions [1] Courage Devotions [4] Criminal Devotions [3] Dance Devotions [1] Death Devotions [9] Deep Thoughts Devotions [2] Desire Devotions [1] Destiny Devotions [2] Dog Devotions [2] Doubt Devotions [1] Dream Devotions [3] Driving Devotions [6] Egg Devotions [1] Excellence Devotions [7] Excuses Devotions [1] Faith Devotions [22] Father Devotions [7] Fishing Devotions [2] Food Devotions [3] Forgiving Devotions [9] Freedom Devotions [1] Friendship Devotions [9] Funny Quizzes Devotions [2] Giving Devotions [17] Glamour Devotions [1] God Devotions [32] God's Promises Devotions [1] Golf Devotions [1] Goodness Devotions [3] Grace Devotions [5] Growth Devotions [1] Guardian Angel Devotions [3] Habit Devotions [1] Happiness Devotions [4] Hero Devotions [1] Honesty Devotions [2] Hope Devotions [4] Humor Devotions [1] Hunger Devotions [1] Ice Cream Devotions [1] Impossible Devotions [2] Integrity Devotions [2] Joy Devotions [7] Kindness Devotions [19] Knowledge Devotions [5] Leadership Devotions [3] Lists Devotions [1] Lonliness Devotions [2] Love Devotions [45] Loyalty Devotions [1] Medical Devotions [3] Memory Devotions [1] Men Devotions [2] Miracle Devotions [6] Money Devotions [9] Mother Devotions [6] Music Devotions [2] Nature Devotions [5] Obstacle Devotions [2] Old Age Devotions [1] Old People Devotions [5] Optimism Devotions [1] Outdoor Devotions [1] Parent Devotions [1] Patriotic Devotions [1] Peace Devotions [2] Perfection Devotions [2] Persistence Devotions [10] Police Devotions [1] Political Devotions [1] Prayer Devotions [24] Recognition Devotions [1] Redemption Devotions [1] Regeneration Devotions [3] Salvation Devotions [13] Santa Devotions [1] School Devotions [2] Self Esteem Devotions [1] Service Devotions [1] Sports Devotions [3] Spring Devotions [1] Strength Devotions [1] Success Devotions [4] Teacher Devotions [2] Thankfulness Devotions [10] Thanksgiving Devotions [1] Time Devotions [24] Travel Devotions [1] Trouble Devotions [5] Trust Devotions [8] Unfairness Devotions [1] Unity Devotions [2] Weakness Devotions [1] Wisdom Devotions [14] Women Devotions [3] Work Devotions [7] Worry Devotions [1] |
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