Once upon a time, there was a king. He had four wives, each more beautiful and virtuous than the other. The king loved all four of them, but his fourth wife was the most beloved, followed by the third, second, and first. The first wife was the oldest among them.
One day, the king went hunting in the forest. There, he was bitten by an unknown insect and contracted a rare disease.
Vaidyas and tantriks used all their knowledge but were unable to improve his condition. Finally, they concluded that the king's death was near and he would only have a few days left.
The king decided to divide his wealth among his queens, as he had no heir. Instead of a simple division, he decided to divide the wealth based on how much each queen loved him. He devised a clever plan and called each queen one by one.
He said, "I have only three days left to live." I'll tell you a secret. Long ago, a sage gave me a powerful instrument that will enable me to attain heaven. If I take one more person with me, we will have to endure terrible torture and spend seven years in hell before we can enter heaven. Because we love each other the most, I have decided to grant you this opportunity to come with me.”
He began with the fourth queen, the youngest and the one he loved the most. He asked her, “Will you come with me when I die?”
The queen was fully convinced of the king's imminent death and said in an emotionless voice, “I have no doubt that I love you, but each person must face their own death. I would prefer to stay here as queen. I am used to love and respect.”
The fourth wife flatly refused and left.
The king loved his third wife very much and was proud of her. He called her and asked her to die with him. The third wife said, "I will prove to you that I loved you the most, but I cannot go with you; I love my life too much."
The king's second wife had been his support through every difficult time. The king asked her to accompany him as well. The second wife said, "Forgive me, Your Majesty! I cannot help you with this. I can certainly perform your last rites, and I will stay with you until then."
Just then a voice came, "I will go with you and go wherever you go. Even if it is a journey after death." The king realized it was his first wife's voice. The king now felt at peace knowing that there was someone who loved him without any expectations. But he had paid her the least attention.
The king was deeply embarrassed. He said, "While I was alive, I should have taken care of you. I should have respected you." He apologized to his first wife.
What does this story teach us? In reality, this story is about you, me, and every human being. Every person has the following four wives:
The fourth wife is our body. We adorn it with jewelry and fine clothes, but in the end, it leaves us.
Our third wife is wealth. We spend a lot of our lives filling our homes with furnishings. Even she can't keep up with us.
Our second wife is family and friends. They support us in every joy and sorrow, but at the most, they can come with us to the cremation ground in our final moments, but they can't walk with us.
Our first wife is character and values, to which we don't pay much attention. But it is this wife who never leaves us even after death; she always remains with us.
Most of us live our lives like the king in this story. We love our wives in the order described above. However, this is the foundation of life and it is essential to live a comfortable life with all the luxuries.
Read more : - Blossoming Bonds : A Journey of Understanding and Love
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