Inside it was like a ‘modern heaven’. The building had been built, decorated and furnished by the best experts available; apparently a huge fortune had been spent but it was nothing for Ryan. Being one of the richest men in the whole world, Ryan could have paid for hundreds of such luxurious buildings. A lift transported him to the floor, where his private office was situated.
“Morning, sir,” his private secretary welcomed him.
“Morning, Julie,” he nodded, “how’s this day going to be?”
“Busy, sir, really busy,” she smiled.
Ryan flashed a small smile in reply and entered his office. Gracefully, he rested himself on his chair. He closed his eyes and began to prepare himself for all those meetings and appointments.
The intercom beeped.
“Yes,” he picked it up.
“Sir, an old man is here and wants to meet you. He claims that you know him and that he is like a father to you.”
Ryan paused for a brief moment.“Send him in.”
After a few moments the door opened and a person came in. His white beard and white long hair smelled of wisdom and experience, his complexion was fair and he had shining black eyes; he wore a grey robe and in his right hand was a staff. His gait was steady and, apparently, he didn’t need a staff but somehow that staff was providing support to him in an indefinable way.
“Father,” he stood up slowly, “after so much time. I had begun to think that you would never come again.”
“I had my reasons, Ryan.” He walked to a chair in front of the table. “Sit down; we have something to talk about.”
Ryan went back to his seat. Who was this old man? Ryan didn’t even know his name; he had been calling him ‘Father’ ever since he first met him. Ryan’s parents had died in an accident when he had been just a baby. He was brought-up in an orphanage; and it was there that he had met this old man. He was perhaps one of the staff members but he was very rarely seen, though all other staff members treated him with great reverence. He had found something special in Ryan the first time they met. Then he started to make his visits after a week or two just to meet Ryan. He treated him as if he were his own son. He had told him that he was destined to go a lot farther than many people; that he had to pass through a number of levels of his life before he reached the final point. He had always helped him and had converted a penniless orphan into the richest man of the world. He had guided Ryan at every step of his life and if there was someone who was to be given the credit for Ryan being what he was now; that someone was this white haired person. Over the years he had changed very little; he seemed to grow very slowly.
“You have made quite some wealth during these years.” Father spoke.
“Yes, thanks to you.” There was a short pause.
“Are you satisfied with your life, Ryan?” His eyes were penetrating Ryan, scanning every movement, no matter how small.
“Of course! What else do I need? I’ve got a zillion dollars in my bank accounts all over the world. My company has shares that would be worth millions. I have all the facilities a man can dream of.”
“Hmm… this is not a good symptom,” he muttered. “Ryan, this is not your destiny. You must move forward.”
“Sorry, I don’t understand.” Ryan looked at him and a strange fear arose in him; a sudden feeling of dread and despair. He could sense that something not very pleasant was about to emerge from his father’s lips.
“You must leave all this; all this wealth; all this money; all these luxuries.” The old man said calmly. His tone was steady and confident, and it indicated that he was fully aware of what he was saying.
“What! Are you mad?” Ryan stood up. Anger rose up in him like the waves of a stormy sea.
“Listen to me, I know this is the most difficult ordeal but you must pass this. You have completed so many stages of your life, you cannot stop here. There are still many stages to conquer. You have to understand.”
“Why should I? Why should I? I have worked so hard to achieve all this and now you want me to throw away all what I have. I won’t do this.” Ryan was nearly shouting.
“I never knew you were so weak, Ryan. What is this money? And what do you know what comfort really means? This is nothing but an illusion, a trap. Unfortunately, a person rarely comes out of this snare. People all over the world have failed at this stage. But you are a traveller, Ryan, and staying anywhere before the destiny is akin to death for a traveller. You are a strong one, Ryan. I had seen this strength in you when you were just a boy. I knew that you were the one I was looking for. And you successfully conquered all the levels till you reached this point. But now, it seems that you have been weakened by this money. Your heart is filled with love for wealth. You have become a slave to it. But I believe that you still have enough will power left in you to pull yourself out of this. You must willingly abandon all your wealth and enter the next level, and there you’ll see how insignificant these worldly possessions are, how worthless and mirage like. Come with me, Ryan, and you won’t need all this money. There are things better than this. There is so much more for you to experience.”
“If I had to leave all of this why did you bring me to this position in the first place?”
“It’s a test. A person who has wealth but willingly forsakes is better than a person who never had wealth. In this journey you have to start from nothing, work hard till you become ‘something’ and then you must again willingly become nothing. It may appear that this cyclic journey has no benefit but it has benefit beyond your wildest imagination Ryan. It gives you the necessary experience for you to enter the next cycle, the spiritual one, which has challenges of its own but before that you have to take this last step. Victory is close, Ryan, take this last step.”
“And what if I refuse?”
“Then you can keep on enjoying your money and I’ll search for another student who would not be as weak as you are.” He said in a grave tone.
“Damn it!” Ryan punched the desk.
“I can understand how you feel; I have passed through all this before. I know how attractive and tempting this money is. I know that you feel well when you travel in the best car, and when your guards salute you, and when you see the zeros in your bank accounts, and when you see sleep on the most comfortable bed but believe me, all this is meaningless. Just think, what does sleeping in a cosy bed give you or how do the best Italian food recipes help you. They provide you with nothing but a sensation. But remember, my boy, you must be the one to control the sensation and sensations should not control you.” The old man said sympathetically.
“Think it over and make your decision. If you are to proceed to the next level you must do it with complete willingness otherwise it would do you no good. Think about it, I’ll be back.” The old man stood up and walked out of the room.
Ryan sat silently at his chair for quite sometime, then he picked up the receiver of the intercom, “Julie, cancel all my appointments.”
***
When it was near evening, Ryan came out of the building. The driver came towards him but he stopped him.
“I don’t need a car,” he said briefly and walked out of the gate as all the guards watched in amazement.
Slowly he walked to a nearby lake and sat at a bench. It was getting dark and there was a strange calmness at that place. The sky was becoming violet while it was reddish at the horizon on the west. A cool breeze was blowing. It seemed to Ryan as if the breeze was blowing away the pieces of dust that had covered the surface of his heart. He could feel his heart and mind coming out of the bonds of all the money and wealth. He bent down and picked up a handful of soil. It was a strange sensation; like you could feel the very nature of yourself; like you could feel your very identity. The old man was right. What was this money, this comfort? Nothing but a stimulus. The comfortable suit he was wearing was nothing but a stimulus received by his skin. The taste of the food was nothing but a stimulus; all the music he heard or all the perfumes he smelt were just a stimulus. Why should he run after them? He was a traveller and his destiny was still far away. Slowly, he took out his wallet from the pocket and threw it with full force into the lake. The wallet entered it with a splash.
“I am glad you made the right decision.”
He looked up. His father was offering his hand; he took it. Together, they walked away. The sun was setting in the west; it was an end; it was a beginning of a new cycle, a new test.
« return.