“I was telling the story of this king - this guy who is completely…”

I was telling the story of this king - this guy who is completely bored, depressed as usual, with so much of wealth - what will you do with so much and this fellow goes to a Enlightened Master who is staying in nearby forest. He asked Master, “I am tired, bored, depressed. I just wanted to die, I am waiting for death. Please help me in some way.” Master said, “Alright, I will get you out of depression. Tomorrow bring all the wealth you have. Convert everything into diamond, put it in a gunny bag and bring it here.”

This guy had a shock - this king, “Oh God! I don’t know what He’s going to do. Maybe He will cheat me and take away every wealth - all the things. Who knows who is this Swami?” He started thinking but somehow night he had a courage, “Anyhow, I am depressed. He says He will bring me out of the depression. Let me try. After all He’s a single guy - He can't take that and run. He can’t take it and run.”

So he gathers all the wealth and puts in the gunny bag - all the diamond. He takes that and goes to the Master. The moment Master sees this bag, he just snatches it and starts running, starts running and this king is chasing him. The problem is that Swami - He knows the whole forest, because He lived in the forest. But this King is new to the forest. What to do he may be King in the country but not in the forest. And this fellow is not able to run behind him “Taka-taka-taka-taka-taka - he must had a big belly - after all King, naturally the big belly.

I wanted to tell you one important thing about this belly. Average Bharatn dies 12 year earlier if he carries a big belly. Understand. If you are having a belly - be very clear, 12 years. No, 12 years your life is reduced. No, I had - I slowly started growing. Then I said, “Oh God! No, no, no, no. I wanted to live 12 more years” - brought it down. Anyhow, he must have had a big belly and this guy is running, running, running. Not 1-hr, 2-hr - that Swami is running almost 10-hrs.

Then finally he stopped - this King in 10-hrs almost he is dead. Somehow he ran and he caught hold of the Swami - that Master and he said, “You cheat, you are taking all my wealth and trying to run away and you are trying to cheat me in the name of helping me.” And he, not only got hold of the wealth, he started sitting on it. He just sat on it, so that the Master cannot steal. And the Master said, “Fool! Don’t you see! Till yesterday you had this same thing, but you are not able to enjoy - now you are able to enjoy. Now you understand what you are having.” King said, “Yes that is true. The same thing is my property - only now I feel as if I got it.” Master says very beautifically, “You took whatever you have for granted. That is why the depression and boredom and chronic fatigue. Don’t take things for granted." The life is, see, life is given to you. When you take that for granted, then you feel boredom, fatigue, tiredness, or whatever you call.

Now we are going to play the same game. I am going to take the life away from you. What the king and the Master played - the same game. Just few hours move the life out of you- just die, that is what I am saying. How only when the King lost what he had and gained it back, he realized what he had. Same way, the basic thing you have is life - let’s remove that from you.

Suddenly you will see, taking it for granted disappears. You will realize what you have. You will experience what you have. You will understand what you have. All you need to do is contemplate on death and go into the death. You may think, “What is this - I came here to learn life, He is teaching me death.” Unless you learn death, you will not be able to learn about life. Ramana Maharishi says beautifully, “Only when I experienced my own death, I know how to live.”

You take it for granted. Unfortunately, you - when you took birth you were unconscious of what you have been given and slowly, slowly you think all this things are your birthright. Birth itself is not your right - what about birthright? No, birth itself is not your right. Who - who told you it's your right? It’s not your right, it's given. So if you face death, go into death, suddenly you will see.

That what all you have taken for granted, you have taken your body for granted, your life for granted, your relationships for granted - your, everything for granted. If you live death, if you face death, you will understand, what all you took it for granted. You will be able to respect the life. The chronic fatigue or deep boredom will disappear.