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PHILOSOPHY OF SOUL
277
and wrongly believes to secure highest happiness on gaining wealth and riches. But this conception is illusory. Wealth and ric might lead to great catastrophe. Just listen what calamities followed while craving for a slab of gold.
GOLDEN SLAB LEADS TO CATASTROPHE Here is a tale from mythology. Goddesses of wealth and learning once had a dispute. Goddess of wealth placed a large golden slabmeasuring 8 yds. in length, 54 yds. in breadth and 27 yds. in height in a forest on a road-side. Both of them kept watching from the sky.
In the meanwhile two Rajputs arrived on the spot. One of them said, "I saw the slab of gold first so the same belongs to me.” But the other retorted, “Nay, we both have moved together and so it equally belongs to me also.” Hot altercation followed and both fought to death.
There was a little hut not very far, wherein stayed a monk, who on his way home in the evening spied the very slab of gold. He was mad with joy and was at a loss to know what he should do then. He could not lift and carry the slab to his hut, so he chose to cut it into pieces and pile them in his hut.
It was dark night and six thieves were passing by the road. They all were equipped with weapons. Spying the bristling golden bar they came near the golden bar to find the monk. The thieves inquired, "What makes you sit here?” The monk replied, "This is my hut and this is my slab of gold.” The thieves asked, "How did you get this bar of gold?” The monk replied, "God pleased with my worship granted me this bar of gold." "You are a liar, you are a monk and why do you want golden-bar ?" The other thief challenged, “We shall have it.” The monk cried out, “You can't have it. It belongs to me.” Before the monk could finish these words he was slaughtered to pieces. Thus the golden-bar destroyed three lives and none could possess even a grain of gold.
The thieves were now happy to find their way unobstructed and to realise treasure sufficient to feed many generations to come. But the problem was how to carry this bar of gold. There was no other alternative but to cut the bar into small pieces but they
