Real Gold

Once upon a time there lived a sadhu in a Gurukul, near the city.His name was Divyarshi.People called him Swami Divyarshi or simply Swamiji.

A thief named Dev lived in the city.He was an accomplished thief and had developed the habit of stealing regularly, even when he did not need to.

One night he came to the kutir of Swamiji.Swamiji however woke up hearing the sound of footsteps.Dev tried to threaten Swamiji and told him to be quiet.

Swamiji said that he did not have anything which Dev could get there.He even ate from whatever he got by begging.However he had a gold necklace which the king had once given him as a reward!

Swamiji then pointed towards a trunk and told the thief to take it from there.Dev took the necklace and asked the sadhu that whether it was real or fake.The sadhu said that he did not have any idea about that.But it was not real gold!

The thief though left the place with the necklace and decided to approach a goldsmith and ask from him.He went to the local goldsmith and gave him the necklace.

Dev could not believe what he heard!The goldsmith said that the necklace was priceless and if it was sold then it would fetch so much money that a person could spend it for an entire year lavishly but then also sufficient amount would be left with him!

Dev again went to the sadhu to solve the mystery that why the sadhu said that the necklace was not real gold.

The sadhu told Dev that the real gold is the heart of a person where the soul resides.It is the only thing which belonged to a person.Otherwise everyone comes to this world alone and goes alone without taking anything with them.If a person is able to take care of his soul by following the righteous path in life and remembering the lord , then that person has the real gold!

And this necklace which Dev was holding is merely made up of metal , but the real precious thing is not that which was shining outside in the hands of the thief, but the pure heart within a person in which god resides!

Dev now fully understood the meaning of the sadhu and promised him to quit stealing and lead a pious life from then on!