I just wanted to share a story told by one of the greatest yogis, Saraha. The story goes like this:
There was a sea bird that managed to catch a fish one day. The bird seemed to be very happy and hoped to enjoy the fish. However, when this bird looked behind him, he was shocked to see that there were hundreds of other birds chasing after him, seeking the fish he had caught. The faster the bird tried to fly, the faster the other birds chased after him. Eventually, the bird carrying the fish decided to just let it go. After dropping the caught fish from his beak, he felt a huge wave of relief because the other birds were no longer chasing him. When this bird looked behind him, he saw that whichever bird managed to get hold of the fish, then was faced with the same problems he had previously experienced. Similarly, Saraha said, “Wealth is a source of problems, and whoever owns wealth will face similar problems just like the bird.” Therefore, the moral of the story is, wealth is not the answer to finding happiness and peace of mind.