Travel Partners

Three friends were on a business trip. After days of travel they are tired. On the last night of their travel, they realised that they had only one chapatti left amongst the three of them. They could not make up their minds how to divide it or who should have it, so they decided that all three of them would go to bed hungry. Who-so-ever had the best dream would get the chapatti as a reward in the morning.

So, all of them went to bed hungry. In the morning they sat together to narrate their dreams. They kept the chapatti box in the middle. The first man said, “I dreamt that in my past birth I was an Emperor. I had a huge empire and a huge army. I had many beautiful queens and many strong sons and beautiful daughters. I had hundreds of servants and maids to do my bidding. I was a great man. The world hailed me as the greatest Emperor of all times.”

The second man said, “Hang on my friend. Wait till I tell you what my dream was. You shall be left wanting for what to say. I dreamt that three days from now, I shall become a very rich man. I shall have many factories. I shall have a huge bungalow in the poshest area of Delhi. I shall be doing business with a foreign collaboration. I shall have ten cars and a battalion of servants. Just wait till three days; I shall be a great man.”

The third man was listening silently. After a few minutes, the first two looked at him questioningly. He said, “My friends, you are indeed great men. One of you was a great man and the other shall be a great man. I am honoured to know you. I am but a simpleton. You know I am a devotee of Lord Hanuman. Before sleeping, I prayed to Him to help us solve the problem. Hanumanji came in my dream and said, ‘How can I allow my Bhakta to sleep on a hungry stomach? Get up and have the roti!’ So I got up in the middle of the night and ate the roti. I could not have possibly disobeyed my Lord. Could I?”

The other two looked at the box lying in the middle and realised what fools they had been.

In life too there are all kinds of people. Some live in the past, like the first man. They dwell on past memories and glories. They lament the lost grandeur of the past and crib about the present always.

Others live constantly in the future like the second man. They are great at building castles in the air. They sit around and do nothing but dream and gossip.

The third are the kind that lives in the present. They believe in doing things and having control over their thoughts, words and deeds! Which kind are you? Do think about it!

Dreams are but dreams. Whether we dream while asleep or we day-dream; a dream is a dream! It is better to live in the present. Everything is here and now. Past is past, it cannot come back. Future is unseen and uncertain. Live in the present and make it happy, the future shall automatically become good.

Make sure that you enjoy the journey; the destination is of secondary importance. Live in the moment. The future may or may not … come. Life is uncertain. The difference between life and death is just one little breath!