There was a rich king who had 4 wives.

He loved his 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. 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.

He liked his 2nd wife too. He took good care of her.

The king's 1st wife was an introvert, a silent spectator who gave occasional hints to the king about what is good and what is not good. But the king never bothered to listen to her and didn’t spend much time with her, 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. "Life is too good!

After you die, I'm going to remarry!"

Her answer came like a bolt of thunder and the king felt sad.

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. There are lots of things I need to take care of, after you die. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave." and she walked away without another word.

Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

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 follow you and give you company after your death!" replied the 2nd wife. "But yes, I know, I will also not survive without you."

His heart sank and turned cold.

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 possessions and wealth. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us and go to others after we die.

Our 3rd wife is our family. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

Our 2nd wife is our body. It can’t survive after our death.

And our 1st wife is our soul (Inner self), 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. So cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now!

Let us shine & grow spiritually !!!

Ramesh Jain