A Happiness Story

This is a story of a wealthy merchant’s pursuit of happiness. 

A long time ago, a very wealthy Merchant lived in a luxurious mansion served by dozens of servants. He had all the comforts that his wealth could buy, but he was miserable. He felt that his life lacked a sense of satisfaction. And therefore, to bring in some pleasure and excitement, he would often resort to bouts of drinking and womanizing. But, alas, the pleasure never lasted, and happiness eluded him. 

Enter The Wise Sage

A wise sage traveled town to town, and he came into the town where the merchant lived. The merchant approached the wise Sage and shared his plight with him.

“Whatever I do, I don’t seem to be happy. Would you please help me o learned one? I am willing to do whatever it takes to derive some sense of satisfaction and happiness in life,” said the merchant to the Sage.

The Sage smiled and told the merchant that happiness was not material possessions. “If you are truly committed to doing what it takes to find happiness, I have a suggestion for you. Please gather all your valuables you may have in your possession, put them in a large sack, and bring it to me.”  

The merchant did as the Sage asked him and brought the sack of valuables. “Here is all the wealth I have O master. What do you want me to do now?” he asked the Sage.

“Close your eyes and don’t do anything until I tell you to,” the Sage said cryptically to the merchant. The merchant did as he was told. 

The Twist In The Tale !!

Fifteen minutes passed, and the merchant kept his eyes closed. There was no sound coming from anywhere, and he started getting worried. 

“O master, can I open my eyes now?” 

No response came from the Sage. Now the merchant was very uncomfortable and decided to open his eyes. The Sage and the sack of valuables had vanished. Instantly, uncertainty changed into anger. The merchant realized that the Sage had cheated him. 

Seething in anger, the merchant enlisted the support of his friends and the local police and started tracking the whereabouts of Sage. Finally, after a few hours of cat and mouse chase, the merchant managed to apprehend the Sage. 

“You scoundrel! You are not a sage. You just wanted to steal my wealth. You didn’t come to teach me happiness; you came here to steal my wealth.” 

The Sage was calm. Smiling, he asked the merchant, “are you happy that you managed to catch me and get your possessions back?

Confused by what the Sage asked, the merchant replied, “Yes !! Of course”

The Sage replied, “Don’t you see it? – I just gave you the formula for happiness! Just about an hour ago – you had all your wealth – the silver, the gold, and the jewels. But you were unhappy. Then I took them away from you. You were unhappy and angry. Now you have them back, and you are happy!

Where did the happiness come from? Did it come from the wealth? Or did it come from inside of you? “

The merchant realized that the Sage had done all this to teach him a lesson in happiness. He respectfully bowed to the Sage and thanked him for the valuable lesson. 

Happiness is knowing the value of what you have and being grateful for it.