How to Make Gold
The Desire for Wealth
Sitaram and Madhav were two affluent friends, but they were consumed by the desire to become even richer, and that too in an effortless way. “Haven’t you heard of hermits creating gold from ordinary materials? If only we could find one such miracle worker!” Madhav exclaimed to Sitaram one day.
A Hopeful Encounter
“That is a splendid idea. We should seek out such a man,” Sitaram replied. A few days later, they stumbled upon a mendicant resting under a tree. Approaching him when no one else was nearby, they inquired, “Well, sadhuji, do you by any chance know the art of creating gold?”
The Guru’s Challenge
“The great Yogi might know. He lives in a cave deep in the forest,” the mendicant replied. The two friends ventured into the forest, climbed the hill, and met the guru. After some initial hesitation, they revealed their purpose.
“Well, since I cannot speak a lie, I must admit that I know how to create gold and can impart the secret to you. However, the rule requires that you each offer me twenty gold mohurs to be eligible to learn the art,” the yogi said with a smile.
An Expensive Lesson
Returning home, Sitaram and Madhav sold much of their land and transformed the money into gold mohurs. With excitement, they hurried back to the yogi and placed the mohurs before him.
“Excellent, boys! Now I will recite the mantra that can perform this miracle. It is forbidden to write it down; you must remember it correctly,” said the yogi, reciting a tongue-twister couplet. Sitaram, after an hour of effort, managed to pronounce it, but Madhav could not. Overwhelmed, he cried, “O Guru, it seems I will not be able to learn it in this lifetime!”
A Shared Fortune
“Take it easy, sonny. This indicates it is not your destiny to make gold. However, whatever gold Sitaram produces today will be yours. That is my order. Whatever gold Sitaram creates afterwards will be his. Remember, the mantra will only work once a year. Today is the first Saturday of the last month of the year; you can attempt the miracle again only on this day next year,” instructed the yogi.
The Moment of Truth
Following the guru’s directions, Sitaram collected pebbles and placed them in a sack, which the guru covered with leaves. Then he asked both disciples to close their eyes. Sitaram recited the mantra thrice. When the guru instructed them to open their eyes, they saw the sack filled with glittering pieces of gold!
Elated, they prostrated themselves before the guru and returned to their village, with Sitaram honoring his promise by giving the sack full of gold to Madhav. Madhav buried it in his courtyard, planning to use it to build a house a year later, when Sitaram would create gold for himself.
The Disappointment
As the year passed and the auspicious day approached, Sitaram could hardly sleep for nights leading up to the event. Early in the morning, he gathered pebbles in a box and sat next to it, with Madhav watching. Both closed their eyes, and Sitaram recited the mantra thrice. Trembling with anticipation, he opened the box, only to find that the pebbles had not changed.
Frustrated, Sitaram closed the box and recited the mantra again and again, but the pebbles remained unchanged. “You must have forgotten a word or two of the mantra,” Madhav suggested. “How could I? Has a day passed without me reciting it a hundred times?” Sitaram replied, defending his memory.
A Lesson Learned
Worried, they rushed back to the yogi. Upon reaching the cave, they found only a sheet of paper where the yogi once stood. The note read: “The only way to create gold is to work hard. Your labor alone can be transformed into gold, not pebbles. But, of course, there is another way to make gold. I took that route and made forty gold mohurs by exploiting your foolishness!”
Silently, Sitaram and Madhav sat in contemplation for a long time before exchanging sighs and sorrowfully returning home. For many days, they remained in silence, burdened by regret as they looked at each other.