The Bottomless Well

 

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Once upon a time, a King sitting in his court asked his subjects – “Which is such a well from which a man cannot get out after falling in?”

There was a rush to provide an answer and many people came forward but none could satisfy the King. In the end, the King ordered the royal priest to give him an answer in seven days or else he would be banished from the kingdom, empty-handed.

For six days, the priest racked his brain non-stop but could not find an answer. On the last day, dejected and resigned, he decided to walk in the forest. There he met a shepherd who recognized him. Excited, the shepherd asked him, “Are you not the royal priest? What are you doing here and why is your face so sad?

Initially, the priest ignored the shepherd but the shepherd was persistent, asking the priest to please tell him the cause of his sadness because he might have a solution for him. On consideration, the priest realized he had nothing to lose but a few minutes so he shared his predicament. He told him about the King’s question and the condition if he was not able to solve the riddle by the next day.

Listening to this, the shepherd said, “It is fine, you don’t have to worry. I have a magical stone and using it you can make any amount of gold.” He continued, “With this stone, you will not have to worry about money anymore and many will follow you. I can give it to you, but there is a condition.”

The priest asked, “What?”

“You should become my disciple,” responded the shepherd.

The priest thought, “Why should I become a shepherd’s disciple for money?” But thinking about the magical stone, he agreed.

The shepherd continued, “For becoming my disciple, you must first drink sheep milk.”

The priest retorted that if he drank sheep milk, his intelligence would be diminished!

The shepherd told him fine, then go your way but the priest was still thinking and finally said, “OK, I will drink that milk.”

The next condition was that the shepherd would first take a drink of the milk and his disciple would finish what was left over. The priest was annoyed about having to drink leftover milk, but eventually agreed to it.

Then the shepherd said the milk would have to be drunk from a dead man’s skull which was at his house. This condition was crushing for the priest, but the shepherd was patient with him. After some thought, the priest responded, “This condition is very difficult for me, but still, I am ready.”

The shepherd replied, “This is the answer to your question. Greed. The Well of Greed is one into which when a man falls, he never comes out. You kept falling into this well of greed to get the magical stone!

Greed is a villainous force that leads people down treacherous paths. At its core, it is an insatiable hunger for more, driving a person to prioritize personal gain above all else. Like in the case of the priest, greed can blind individuals to ethical considerations and moral boundaries.

Unfortunately, the psychological consequences of greed are high levels of stress, anxiety, and dissatisfaction. Greed traps you in a never-ending cycle of desire, perpetually chasing elusive fulfillment.

What are your values? Do they include empathy and moderation? Is there anything for which you would go to any lengths to obtain? Why?

“The world says: You have needs – satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and mighty. Don’t hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more. This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder.” ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” ~ Socrates