This too shall pass

Once a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them, "Is there a suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time. All wise men got puzzled by the king’s question. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in

extreme danger, when the king finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he’ll have to see it. The king put the paper under his diamond ring.After a few days, the neighbors attacked the kingdom. It was a surprise attack by the king’s enemies. The king and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. The king fled on his horse with the enemies following him. His horse took him far away in the jungle.He could hear many troops of horses following him and the sound was coming closer and closer. Suddenly the king found himself standing at the end of the road. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feet deep. The sound of the enemy’s horses was approaching fast. The king became restless. There seemed to be no way.

Then suddenly he saw the diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was very small but very great. The message was – "This too will pass."The king read it. Again read it. Suddenly something struck him- Yes! It too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the kings. Yet today, the kingdom and all my pleasures have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. However when those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. He became calm.  After a few minutes king realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains.The king was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his lost empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fan fare. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being thrown on the king from every house, from every corner.  People were dancing and singing. For a moment king said to himself, "I am one of the bravest and greatest king. It is not easy to defeat me." With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him. Suddenly the diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He opened it and read it again: "This too will pass" He became silent. His face went through a total change -from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness. If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just a watcher. Everything passes by. We are witness of all this. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes.
   
Sit silently and evaluate your own life. Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There were friends in the past. They have gone. There are friends today. They too will go. There will be new friends tomorrow. They too will go. There were enemies in the past. They have gone. There may be enemies in the present. They too will go. There will be new enemies tomorrow and they too will go.