Alexander the Great and Diogenes

When Alexander the Great was leaving for India he went to see Diogenes, a great sage of the times. Diogenes asked Alexander, “Where are you going and for what?”Alexander said, “I am going to conquer Asia Minor!”Then Diogenes queried, “And what will you do after conquering Asia Minor?””I will then go to conquer India,” said the would-be conqueror.”And what then?” asked the sage.And the answer was, “I have to conquer the whole world.”Diogenes was Lying on the sandy bank of a river; he was completely naked and enjoying the morning sunshine. He asked again, “What will you do after you have conquered the world?”Alexander said, “Then I will rest and relax.”This reply of Alexander’s sent Diogenes into loud laughter, and he called his companion, his dog, who was sitting some distance from him. When the dog came to him Diogenes said, addressing the dog, “Listen to what this mad king is saying. This man says that he will rest after he conquers the world. And here we are resting right now without conquering a single place.” And he said to Alexander, “If rest is your ultimate objective, why not join me and my dog right now on this beautiful river bank? There is enough space here for us all. I am already resting. Why are you going to create so much trouble and disturbance around the world just to rest at the end of it all? You can rest right here and now.”An embarrassed Alexander then said, “What you say seems to be very sensible, but I cannot rest right now. Let me first conquer the world.”And then the sage said, “There is no connection whatsoever between world conquest and rest. Here I am, resting well, without having to go in conquest of the world.”What Diogenes told Alexander at the end of their dialogue proved to be prophetic. He said, “You will in fact, turn back mid-journey. Who has ever returned after completing his journey?” On his way back from India the conqueror died; he could not reach Greece.All Alexanders die, and die mid journey. They gather wealth but don’t have the time to enjoy it. They do everything to collect all the instruments of an orchestra, and when everything is ready they find to their despair that they have lost the capacity to play them. Their hands are empty and they can’t do anything but weep. Alexander died empty handed.  ~Osho  www.Osho.com
Many blessings to you,
Jafree303-926-0855http://www.EnlightenedBeings.com