LOVING OR FEIGNING LOVE
 

There is this story of a person who assumed that the world is permanent. A sage advised him of the transience of the world; that all relationships are false. But the man was not willing to believe what the hermit said. The sage told him, 'I will give you a pill, eat it and you will be physically immobile for a day as if you are dead, but you will be conscious. Then you will understand the true nature of the world by the happenings around you.'

The man took the pill and feigned death. When the hermit reached the man's house, the wife sobbed inconsolably, 'O Sage! My husband has departed at such a young age', to which the sage replied, 'I can revive him, provided one of you sacrifice your life for his sake'. The man's aged parents told the hermit, 'We need to go on pilgrimages to Kasi and Rameswaram; we cannot give up our lives before that'. The children said, 'Our mother will take care of us; it will compensate for our father'. The hermit told the wife, 'You seem to be in much greater grief than the others. I can save your husband if you can give up your life for him', to which the wife replied, 'Even when this person was alive, he was frittering away his life under the influence of drinks. I will take care of the family'. The hermit said, 'What is this? I am asking one of you to give up your life to save him; none of you seem to care for him' to which the entire family chorused, 'Swami! You do not have any relations in the world, nor do you have any wants. Why do not you sacrifice your life for him? We will construct a Samadhi for you and will worship you on your anniversary', and the hermit fled!

That is how the world is. Only ten percent of the world knows to love; the remaining 90% are busy flaunting love for getting their work done. They do not care if saints suffer from stomachache; their focus is 'if the saint accepts what I offer, then it is good for me' and therefore they will thrust on the saints whatever they get from half-a-penny store!