The King And His 4 Wives

Once upon a time, there lived a king who had four wives. The king got seriously ill and was on his death bed.

Afraid to venture into the afterlife alone, he asked his fourth wife whom he loved the most and bought her diamond, gold and elegant clothing: “Would you die with me? And go with me to the afterlife?” The fourth wife replied with a sorry saying she can’t do that and walked away.

He also loved his third wife and was very proud and would show her off to neighbouring kingdoms. He called on his third wife and asked the same question: “Would you accompany me to the afterlife”? The third wife replied that she loved her life too much and she cannot go with him and also that she would remarry on his death.

The second wife has always been there for him in the times of his need. So he asked her would she accompany him in the afterlife? The second wife apologetically replied that she would not be able to help him this time but would arrange his funeral and would be there for his funeral.

A voice called out and said that: “I will leave with you and follow you wherever you go, even if it is to the afterlife”. The king looked and it was his first wife. And this was the wife he took care of the least. He felt embarrassed and said that I should have taken a better care of you and given you more attention when I was alive.

The moral of this story is that we all have four wives.

• Our fourth wife is our body. We like to decorate it with nice clothes, sexy hairstyle, nice jewelry but in the end it cannot follow us to the afterlife.
• Our third wife is our possessions. We spend so much time gathering our possessions: Car, house, guitar, DSLR, gold. But in the end they can’t follow us to the afterlife. It will be given to other people and divided. Just like the third wife remarrying.
• The second wife are out friends and family. We trust them, they’re always there for us in times of need. But the farthest they can go is the funeral and send us off.
• Our first wife represents our soul. We usually neglect taking care of our soul. That is the thing that will follow us to the afterlife.

Care for your body, keep it healthy. Enjoy your possessions and the comfort they provide. Cherish your friends and family for the love that they provide. But don’t forget to take care of your soul. Nourish your soul. Spend some quality time with you. Spend some alone time. Take time to pray, take time to meditate. Because it is the source of all our life and and our most faithful friend.

Author: Abhinav Rai