What greed can do!

There was a very, very rich man. As he was rich, even so was he miserly. His wealth and his stinginess went together. He had an only daughter, a very beautiful girl. He did not want to spend any money on his daughter’s marriage. His daughter and his wife liked a particular boy who was very nice and well-educated, but the rich man did not want to give his daughter to this fellow. He was waiting for someone who would give him thousands of rupees for permission to marry his daughter. He was not ready even to buy two garlands for his daughter and his future son-in-law. He did not want to part with even five rupees.

One day the rich man went to the market to buy groceries. He saw some of his friends inside a bakery. They were eating sweets, especially ladoo, and they were so happy and so thrilled. The rich man was dying to have some ladoo, but he did not want to spend any money. He was hoping that one of his friends would be kindhearted enough to give him some ladoo, but no one offered him any sweets. He was so miserable. He was dying to eat some ladoo because, according to his friends, it tasted so good.

Finally, the rich man decided that he would buy the ingredients and make the ladoo himself. He went to a shop and bought everything that is needed to make ladoo.

Then the rich man said to himself, “If I make the ladoo at home, I shall have to share it with my wife and daughter.” He did not want to do that. He said, “I will tell my wife that I have an urgent piece of business tomorrow, and I will come home only late at night. I will say that they should not wait for me. They should eat without me, and I will come back in the evening.”

He took the ingredients and went quite far from his home. Then he started making ladoo. He was so happy because his preparation was becoming very tasty. Then two hooligans happened to pass by. They said, “What are you doing here? This is our property!”

The hooligans thrashed him, and right in front of him they ate all the sweets he had made! Then he was so miserable. He could not enjoy any of his own preparation. He went home very sad.

When he came home, the rich man thought that, seeing his miserable face, his family would show him sympathy. Instead, his wife and daughter were in the seventh Heaven of delight. He said, “I am miserable. How can you be so happy?”

He did not tell them why he was miserable, but they said, “We can tell you why we are so happy.”

When the rich man had gone away for the whole day, the wife had immediately arranged for their daughter to get married. On that very day she and the young man got married. They were so happy that they were in the seventh Heaven of delight. So, for a little ladoo, the rich man had to give away his daughter. His daughter was happy, but the poor fellow did not get any money from the marriage, and he could not even eat his own ladoo preparation.

Look what greed can do! Greed meets with such unbearable punishment. If you are miserly, then your suffering never, never ends. If you lead a good life, eventually you will get your due reward.