A LESSON FROM ALEXANDER THE GREAT:*The last three wishes of Alexander the Great*
Just before he died, Alexander convened his generals and told them his last three wishes:
1 - That his coffin SHOULD BE carried on the shoulders and transported by the best doctors of the time.
2 - That the treasures he had conquered (silver, gold, precious stones), should be scattered on the path to the grave site.
3 - That his hands should be dangling in the air, outside of the coffin, and in view of all.
One of his generals, astonished by these quite unusual desires, asked Alexander about his reasons. Alexander explained to him:
1 - I want the most eminent doctors from the land to load my coffin to show that they did not have the power to heal in the face of death.
2 - I want the ground to be covered by my treasures for all to see that material goods conquered here, cannot be taken with us at death. They remain here.
3 - I want my hands to be swaying in the wind, so that people can see that just as we came here with empty hands, we leave too with empty hands, when we are ending the most valuable treasure, which is our time on this planet.
When dying we can take no material things with us.
UNDERSTANDING THE LIMITATIONS OF MONEY.......
Money can buy books, but not knowledge.
It can buy weapons, but not valour.
Money can buy a clock but not time.
It can buy blood, but not life.
Money can buy expensive medicines, but not health; the tastiest of food, but not appetite.
It can buy makeup and cosmetics for face, but not beauty; it can't buy a charming smile which makes the face really pretty and bright.
Money can give us a mansion to live, but not a home where there is love and warmth; a comfortable bed, but not sound sleep.
It can attract many admirers like bees to honey, but not well wishers' blessings to keep.
Money can attract opportunistic sycophants, but not caring friends.
It can buy us a position in society, but not respect.
Money can buy sex, but not love.
It can buy objects of pleasures, but not a capacity to enjoy nor happiness.
We come empty handed and we shall leave likewise; we should not let money give us a feeling of intoxication.
This state of exuberance can become the cause of our troubles and would not give us any salvation.
Remember: The money that we earn doesn't belong to us; only that which we actually spend belongs to us.
When we die, we leave intact all our monetary riches for others to desire and fight over.
What stays behind is only the fragrance of the good use of the honest wealth we acquire.
What we take with us are only our karma-s (actions) and spiritual practices we did.
*"Time"* is the most precious treasure that we have because *It is limited*. We can produce more money, but not more time...When we dedicate time to a person, we are giving him or her a portion of our life that we can never recover, our time is our life.*
*THE BEST GIFT* we can give someone is our *time* and we should *ALWAYS* give it to our family or a good friend!
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