The Eternal Ocean of Maya

One day, the corpse of an elephant was floating in a river. 

When a crow saw the corpse, he was pleased and immediately came upon it. 

He ate enough meat - drank the water of the river - and whirled here and there on top of the corpse, feeling the ultimate satisfaction. 

He thought - it is a great vehicle. There is no shortage of food and water here. 

Then why should I stray away from this place?

The crow stayed over the corpse flowing in the river for several days.

When hungry, he would eat the corpse and drink the river water when he was thirsty. 

Seeing the immense water, its rapid flow, the beautiful views of nature extending far and wide on the shore - he was overwhelmed with joy.

Eventually, one day the river reached the ocean and merged with it. 

The river was determined to reach its destination. Its ultimate goal was to meet and merge with the ocean.

But that day was indeed bad for the crow - who had no aim - no target. 

A few days of fun brought him to a place where he had no food, no drinking water, nor any shelter. Everywhere, there was infinite saltwater - with no border or land to be seen anywhere. 

Soon, the crow was exhausted.

Hungry and thirsty for a few days - fluttering its wings in all directions, flying with his shallow and spiral flights - but still, he could not see the end of the ocean.

Finally - exhausted - tired, and dizzy, he fell into the high-rise waves of the ocean, and a giant crocodile swallowed him.

Moral:

If we start thinking of food and shelter as our chief goal and get excessively indulged in physical and worldly pleasures - just like that crow who considered food and shelter as its ultimate aim - then we may also sink in the eternal ocean of Maya.

There is more to life than just food and shelter - and worldly pleasures.

                        ' Rajan Sachdeva '