Words From The Master - 04 May 2008

Run with yourself

A man was doing penance in a jungle for God to appear. God took pity and appeared before him. He told the man to ask for anything he wanted. The man, a landlord, was overjoyed. He said he had lost all his wealth and wished to become wealthy again.

God took pity and told him that if he ran from dawn to dusk the next day, the entire area he covered would be his.

The following day the man ran as fast as he could even before dawn. It was noon and he was hungry but he was determined to not to stop running. In the evening, he was thirsty and tired but he didn’t stop for he thought of his rich neighbour who owned many acres of land. A little before sunset, he felt giddy and weak but he managed to take a few more steps. At twilight, he stumbled, and fell down dead.


The same way in life we get tired and dissatisfied. This happens because we keep running ‘behind our wants, instead of our needs’. We have been given enough energy to fulfill our needs. We don’t need any more energy.

If we stick only to needs, we will not have any problems. But what happens is that we develop many wants from all that we see around us. We borrow all the desires of our friends, neighbours, relatives and make them our own wants.

When we do this, two things happen: Even after we ‘acquire all our borrowed wants, we are dissatisfied because they are not our own wants, they are borrowed and don’t really satisfy us’. Then, when we realise that such things don’t really satisfy us we become tired and frustrated.

For example, we might be able to live without an air conditioner. But the moment we hear that someone has bought one, we begin to get ideas about buying one. We then feel we cannot manage without an air conditioner! We spend time buying and maintaining an air conditioner. This is how, even in small matters, we borrow ideas and then run behind them.

It is our attitude of comparison and jealousy that makes us borrow ‘these needs of others’.

From beauty to success, we look at what others have and try to acquire it ourselves. All these are borrowed desires that become our wants.

Our needs, on the other hand, are just what we need for that moment to run our lives.

People ask me, “But what about career aspirations? Is that also borrowed?” No, that is all right.

As long as you don’t run because some one else is running, it is all right.

Run with yourself.

Try to better yourself every day keeping in mind the previous day’s performance.

That will keep you immersed in your needs instead of your wants.