The Wise Use of Time

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There was once a man living in a village. He was a kind-hearted person, but he had one bad habit—he would always *procrastinate. He believed that everything in life happened only due to *fate.

One day, a sage came to him. The man served the sage with great devotion. Pleased with his hospitality, the sage gave him a philosopher’s stone (Paras Pathar) and said:

“I am very pleased with your service. So, I’m giving you this philosopher’s stone.
I will take it back after *seven days. Until then, you can use it to turn as much iron into *gold as you want.”

The man tried to find iron in his house but found only a little. He converted that into gold, sold it at the market, and bought some household goods.

The next day, he went to the market to buy more iron, but the prices were high. So, he returned home, thinking he’d buy it later.

Three days later, he went to the market again, but this time the price had increased even more. He thought to himself, “Surely, one day the price will drop. I’ll buy it then.”
So, he kept postponing and never bought the iron.

On the eighth day, the sage returned to take the philosopher’s stone.
The man said,

“All my time just passed by like that. I haven’t been able to turn anything into gold yet. Please allow me to keep the stone for a few more days.”

But the sage refused.

He said,

“A person like you can never achieve anything in life. If someone else had this opportunity, they would have accomplished so much by now.
One who doesn’t know how to use time properly will always live in regret.”

Saying this, the sage took the stone and left.

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Moral:
A person who keeps delaying tasks, wastes time, and relies only on fate will always live in sorrow.

Always stay content—what you have is enough.
He who is joyful in heart possesses everything.