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Force 99
There once lived A sheth who was a wealthy businessman. Next
to him lived a poor man who sweated out his whole day in hard
labour. In fact, his whole family, wife and children worked
hard at menial jobs. Whatever they earned, they spent. After
their daily supper, they would relax and pray to God, then retire
comfortably to sleep. Next morning, they would rise, pray to
God and go off to work. Yet they were content, happy and relaxed.
On the other hand, the wealthy sheth was always edgy, hasty
and tense. He would not even spend money on decent food. His
only desire was to earn money - to collect more and more of
it. And so he never found time free to relax or enjoy life.
One day, the sheth's wife complained, ''Look at the poor man
and his family next door. They earn very little, yet they live
happily. They eat well, pray well and enjoy life together.
Whereas we have much and yet enjoy not a moment of peace!''
The sheth readily replied, ''He has not yet encountered Force
99, and so he lives peacefully.'' ''What's Force 99?'' the wife
inquired. ''I'll show you soon when the time comes,'' the sheth,
answered. That very night, the sheth packed a small bag with
99 rupees and threw it into the hut of his neighbour. Next morning
when the family awoke, they saw the bag.
They opened it and counted the money! Then the couple thought,
''If we save one rupee then it would make a complete hundred!''
From then onwards to save that one rupee they began to go out
to work very early and return late at night. Tired and exhausted,
they would go straight to bed without a word! They cut down
on food to save money. When after some days a rupee was saved,
they thought, ''If we work hard like this we should be able
to save 100 rupees every year!'' And so their greed grew. They
began work before sunrise and returned home late in the dark.
They ate less and cheap food. And even stopped their daily prayers.
The sheth's wife noticed this. "The labourers are no longer
to be seen in their home. They never relax or pray! What on
earth has happened to them?" she asked. The sheth explained,
''Did I not tell you that when Force 99 hits you, this happens.
They've just been struck by Force 99!'' If we are struck by
Force 99, the drive to just earn money, to gather more and more,
we lose our peace.
Hence, he who is content and satisfied is the wealthiest of
all.
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