Once upon a time... there was a
rich King who had 4 wives.
He loved the 4th wife the most
and adorned her with rich robes
and treated her to the finest of
delicacies. He gave her nothing
but the best.
He also loved the 3rd wife very
much and was always showing
her off to neighboring kingdoms.
However, he feared that one day
she would leave him for another.
He also loved his 2nd wife. She
was his confidante and was
always kind, considerate and
patient with him. Whenever the
King faced a problem, he could
confide in her to help him get
through the difficult times.
The King's 1st wife was a very
loyal partner and had made
great contributions in
maintaining his wealth and
kingdom. However, he did not
love the first wife and although
she loved him deeply, he hardly
took notice of her.
One day, the King fell ill and he
knew his time was short. He
thought of his luxurious life and
pondered, "I now have 4 wives
with me, but when I die, I'll be
all alone."
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I
have loved you the most,
endowed you with the finest
clothing and showered great
care over you. Now that I'm
dying, will you follow me and
keep me company?"
"No way!" replied the 4th wife
and she walked away without
another word. Her answer cut
like a sharp knife right into his
heart.
The sad King then asked the 3rd
wife, "I have loved you all my life.
Now that I'm dying, will you
follow me and keep me
company?"
"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is
too good! When you die, I'm
going to remarry!" His heart
sank and turned cold.
He then asked the 2nd wife, "I
have always turned to you for
help and you've always been
there for me. When I die, will you
follow me and keep me
company?"
"I'm sorry, I can't help you out
this time!" replied the 2nd wife.
"At the very most, I can only
send you to your grave." Her
answer came like a bolt of
thunder and the King was
devastated.
Then a voice called out: "I'll
leave with you and follow you no
matter where you go." The King
looked up and there was his
first wife. She was so skinny, she
suffered from malnutrition.
Greatly grieved, the King said, "I
should have taken much better
care of you when I had the
chance!"
In Truth, we all have 4 wives in
our lives ...
Our 4th wife is our body. No
matter how much time and effort
we lavish in making it look good,
it'll leave us when we die.
Our 3rd wife is our possessions,
status and wealth. When we die,
it will all go to others.
Our 2nd wife is our family and
friends. No matter how much
they have been there for us, the
furthest they can stay by us is
up to the grave.
And our 1st wife is our Soul,
often neglected in pursuit of
wealth, power and pleasures of
the ego. However, our Soul is the
only thing that will follow us
wherever we go.....