Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), as we begin today ‘let us remember this about ‘Attention’.

Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. We feed the hunger blindly. Once the mechanism is brought to our attention and we begin to study it, it is as if a veil has been stripped off ordinary life, and we become freer in our action and choices.

This week I bring to your attention yet another tale, which is extracted from an interesting and thought provoking work, titled ‘Caravan of Dreams’ compiled by Idries Shah.

The Chests of Gold

Once upon a time there was a rich merchant who went away on a long journey, leaving his steward in charge of his money.

A Crafty and dishonest man overheard him say to the steward:

‘You are in sole charge. I have in my strong-room a hundred chests of gold. In each chest there are a hundred gold pieces. Guard them well until I return.’

The crafty man scraped up an acquaintanceship with the steward, and they often used to sit drinking coffee together.

One day the crafty man said: ‘I am something of an alchemist. If I can get one gold piece, I can double it, so that it becomes two.

At first the steward did not believe him; but after a time he was tempted to make a test, using some of his employer’s money.

You only borrow it, said the crafty man, ‘and you keep it in your own hands, here in the coffee-house. If it does not multiply, what can you lose?’

Eventually the steward agreed.

He took one gold piece from his master’s hoard and put it in a cunningly-contrived box which the ‘alchemist’ supplied. When they opened the lid, there were two pieces inside.

Thus encouraged, and being presented with the extra piece as a gift, the steward asked the alchemist if he could repeat the process.

‘Certainly, ‘said the crafty man, ‘but there are certain rules. First you must take only one coin from each box of coins that you have, however many that may be. Bring them here.’

The steward did as he was told, and one by one, the hundred coins became two hundred.

‘Now for the next rule,’ said the crafty man; and that is: you must not replace “doubled coins” in the same box. Get another box and put the two hundred in that. Then spend from the new box until your own hundred are finished. This will leave your master’s capital untouched, and you will have gained one hundred pieces of gold.

“The steward did as he was told. He started to spend his own share and, sure enough, he found that the ‘doubled’ pieces were real gold, accepted without question in the shops.

He had never had so much money in his life, and he spent a lot of it on drink and other personal indulgences, encouraged by the “alchemist’ who told him: ‘As soon as that hundred is

finished, tell me, and we will be able to repeat the process but not before.’

When the time came for the merchant’s return, the steward was well addicted to drink. The merchant, when he saw him, said: What kind of a steward are you? I suppose that you have

spent my money on yourself?’