One day, an ordinary man began praying to Lord Shiva.
He said, "My dear Lord, I understand that you have a lot of work to do up there. You possess innumerable, inconceivable powers. I hope that all you do is to protect this planet Earth.
Thank you for that.
But out of all your powers, the energy of light seems to be the most amazing. Light pervades the spiritual world; it illuminates the material universes, and life is impossible without it. Yet many of us feel that we lack it in our lives.
Since my birth, I have known you, and you have known me. I have nothing to hide or left to share with you. I request you to offer me more wealth from your right hand, as you have done in your holy stories. It's all magical."
Listening to his devotee, God appeared before him in a multi-armed form.
"My dear," said the Lord, "ask me what you need."
I prayed to Lord Shiva, "How come you have come in the form of Lord Vishnu?"
"As you know, he is quite busy, so I came," replied the Lord.
"Your presence has made my day," I said. "I have told Lord Shiva that I need money from his right hand.
And since you have many hands, can I get money from every hand?"
To my surprise, the Lord replied, "As you wish, but it may be difficult for you to handle it!" In excitement, I said, "I can!"
"But there is one condition," said the Lord. "If you drop any of it on the floor, you won't get any of it. And if you fall down yourself, you will lose it all as well."
The man agreed.
In a few moments, money started to sparkle and flow from Vishnu's hands. Slowly, the man found himself unable to hold all the money, and eventually some slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground. Overwhelmed by the sheer abundance, he even lost his balance and fell down himself.
In the next moment, God disappeared.
He remained as he was and realized that to truly own wealth, one must earn it oneself - and never ask for it, not even from the Lord.
Earn it.