Once, an old man was travelling in a train. When he was fast asleep, his purse slipped down from his pocket and fell down. A youth picked up the fallen purse, but he could not locate its owner as the train was crowded.
The youth got down at the railway station and announced that he would give the purse to the person who could give some information about its contents. The old man heard this and told the youngster that inside the purse, there was a picture of Lord Krishna.
Since there was a picture of Lord Krishna inside the purse, the youth handed over the purse to the old man. The old man said that the purse was very precious and narrated the following story about the purse.
He said-
“When I was a child, I pestered my father and got him to buy this purse for me. I used to keep the photograph of my parents in it. When I got married, I kept my wife’s photo and when my son was born, it was his photo which adorned my purse.
But after my son got married, he moved away from me and began to live with his wife. By then, my parents and wife had also passed away.
I learnt a lesson. I kept the photo of Lord Krishna in this purse as He would be always with me, never to leave.“
This story teaches us that there are only types of things in life- that which is transient, like human relationships and that which is eternal and permanent- that is God. We should make the right choice.