A small story🔗

One man was doing rigorous penance in a jungle for God to appear. God condescended and appeared before him. He told him to ask for what he wanted. The man replied that he was a landlord and had lost all his wealth and that he wished to become wealthy again. God said that the following day, if the man ran from dawn to dusk, all the area covered by him would be his. The Man was happy. The next day the man started running even before dawn. He ran as fast as he could. How comparison affects you?

Close to noon, hunger beckoned but he didn't pay heed and kept running. Early in the evening, thirst and fatigue gripped him but he was goaded on by the thought of the neighbouring landlord who owned many acres of land. A little before sunset, he felt giddy and weak but managed a few more steps by merely thinking of the neighbouring landlord, but faltered and fell dead. This is how we all live our lives. We run the race without feeling any true satisfaction, without even stopping to think why we are running! Shankaracharya describes this as "thatha kim, thatha kim…" meaning "what next, what next…"