A man went to a saint and asked, “What’s the value of life?”

The saint gave him a stone and said, “Find out the value of this stone, but don’t sell it.”

The man took the stone to an orange seller and asked him what its cost would be.

The orange seller saw the shiny stone and said, “You can take twelve oranges and give me the stone.”

The man apologized and said that his guru has asked him not to sell it.

He went ahead and found a vegetable seller.

“What could be the value of this stone?” he asked the vegetable seller.

The seller saw the shiny stone and said, “Take one sack of potatoes and give me the stone.”

The man again apologized and said he can’t sell it.

Further ahead, he went into a jewelry shop and asked the value of the stone.  

The jeweler saw the stone under a lens and said, “I’ll give you five million for this stone.” 

When the man shook his head, the jeweler said, “Alright, alright, take twenty million, but give me the stone.”

The man explained that he can’t sell the stone.

Further ahead, the man saw a precious stone shop and asked the seller the value of this stone.

When the precious stone seller saw the big ruby, he lay down a red cloth and put the ruby on it. Then he walked in circles around the ruby and bent down and touched his head in front of the ruby.

“From where did you bring this priceless ruby?” he asked. “Even if I sell the whole world, and my life, I won’t be able to purchase this priceless stone.”

Stunned and confused, the man returned to his guru and told him what had happened.

“Now tell me what is the value of life, guru-ji?”

The saint said, “The answers you got from the orange seller, the vegetable seller, the jeweler and the precious stone seller explain the value of our life. You may be a precious stone, even priceless, but people will value you based on their financial status, their level of information, their belief in you, their motive behind entertaining you, their ambition and their risk-taking ability. But don’t fear, you will surely find someone who will discern your true value.”

An example of how a mother understood the real worth of her son:

One day a boy came home and gave a paper to his mother. He told her, “My teacher gave this paper to me and told me to only give it to you”.

She silently read what the teacher had written: “Your son is addled (mentally unfit). We won’t let him come to school anymore.”

His mother’s eyes were tearful as she read out the letter aloud to her son:

“Your child is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have enough good teachers for training him. Please teach him yourself.”

The mother understood the real worth of her child and was determined that she would make something out him. So, she started teaching him herself at home.

The child was Thomas Alva Edison.

Many years after Edison’s mother died and he was one of the greatest inventors of the century, one day he was looking through the old family things. Suddenly he saw the folded paper in the corner of the drawer in a desk. He took it and opened it up. On the paper it was written:

“Your son is addled (mentally unfit). We won’t let him come to school any more.

Edison cried for hours and then wrote in his diary: “Thomas Alva Edison was an addled child, but by the hero, his mother, became the genius of the century.”

It is very important for parents to believe in their children and understand their real worth. Always encourage and inspire them, rather than belittling them.

Respect yourself.

You are Priceless! 

You are also Unique.

No one can Replace you!