Once upon a time three people had a debate on who owns what. There was this Corporal who was powerful, there was this business man who had lot of wealth and there was this Brahmin who had lot of knowledge.
All three of them considered themselves superior to the other two. To resolve the debate, they visited a Rishi in a Jungle.
Business man
I have spent a decade of my life earning money. I have lots of them, I don’t care about the world anymore and I have no fears.
Corporal
I have spent a decade of my life earning power and respect. On my command, I can arrest anyone and take over an entire army, invade nations. I don’t care about the world anymore and have no fears.
Brahmin
I have spent a decade of my life earning knowledge and wisdom. I know things very few people know. I don’t care about the world anymore since I have good understanding of how the world works.
The Rishi listened to all three and smiled. He told them to follow him to the Jungle.
The Rishi said
Gentleman, there is a Lion sitting right there. No worries, the Lion has just finished his meal and won’t attack any of us. But soon, it will be hungry again and then it will attack you. Since you people do not care about the world and have no fears, I expect each of you to deal with this situation your own way.
Now before I leave, would you care to explain me how you are going to handle this situation?
Business man said
I will hire hunters and kill the Lion before it attacks me.
Corporal said
I don’t care. I have my gun with me, I will kill the lion myself
Brahmin said
I know how to delude the Lion and escape, so I don’t need to kill the Lion.
The Rishi said
Gentleman, understand this fundamental truth. You own nothing. You are living in an illusion of ownership, which is just a choice you want to make in your life.
You are only wealthy when you have money, but to the Lion, you are no different from that beggar. You are only powerful when you are commanding your army but to the Lion, you are powerless. You are only knowledgeable within your school and people, but to the Lion you are just a lump of Flesh.
Hence, in the bigger scheme of things, you own nothing.
You are a mere guardian of the wealth you have accumulated. When you die, the wealth shall pass on to other people. You are a mere guardian of the power that lies with the chair you command for. After you, the chair shall continue to remain and someone else will be sitting on it. You are merely a guardian of the knowledge which you have learned. The knowledge shall pass with or without you.
This Lion doesn’t care whether you have lot of money, power or knowledge. It will attack you irrespective of who you are, whether good whether bad.
In this world, nobody cares how much you have, if at all you have anything or you don’t have anything. Nature doesn’t care whether you a King or a mendicant, it will treat both of you equally.
Therefore, give-up and rejoice! Let go!’ Don’t get caught up in this circus. Let go and enjoy yourself. Whose wealth is this anyway? Whose power is this anyway? Whose knowledge is this anyway?