Do Not Fall In Love With The World

A son once told his father that he had fallen in love with a girl whom he wanted to marry and asked him to go and speak to her family. The father agreed and went to see the girl.

When the father met her, he fell in love with her himself. When he returned home, he told his son that the girl was more suitable for him than for the son. This led to an argument between them, and the family became divided and unhappy.

Not knowing how to resolve the situation, they decided to visit a wise man in their community, known for giving fair advice. They explained the problem and asked him to judge who should marry the girl. When the wise man met her, he also fell in love with her and said that she was more suitable for him than for either the father or the son.

Angry and confused, they decided to take the matter to someone with more authority. They went to the vizier, a high official close to the king. The vizier saw the girl, and also fell in love with her, saying she should marry him instead.

Finally, they went to the king himself. When the king saw the girl, he too fell in love and wanted to marry her, and said she was more suitable for him than for anyone else.

At this point, the girl spoke. She suggested a test. She said she would run, and whoever caught her could marry her. She began to run, and all of them ran after her. While chasing her, they fell into a deep pit and could not get out.

Standing above them, the girl told them that her name was World. She explained that they were always chasing her, thinking they could possess her, but instead they only harmed themselves by doing so.

This story shows how people at every level of life can become attached to worldly desires. Age, wisdom, and power do not protect anyone from being tempted. Each person believed he deserved the girl more than the others, just as people often believe they deserve wealth, status, or pleasure.

The lesson is not that the world should be completely rejected, but that becoming overly attached to it distracts us from finding our true being. When people spend their lives chasing worldly things, they often never reach true satisfaction and may lose peace and balance along the way.

The story reminds us to be careful about how much importance we give to worldly desires and not to let them control our lives.