English Language · Reading Comprehension

High in the Aravalli range lived a reclusive monk named Vayun, who was once a celebrated philosopher in the royal court but withdrew from public life after concluding that society admired wisdom only when it came wrapped in eloquence, not sincerity. He spent his days observing nature, believing that the quiet unfolding of things revealed more truth than the loud declarations of men. Every year, students from distant cities trekked to his hermitage, hoping to receive rare insights. Yet Vayun refused to teach anyone who sought knowledge merely as a tool for prestige. One sweltering summer, a wealthy merchant named Kirit arrived, burdened not by heat but by his growing frustration. His trade empire had expanded rapidly, yet he felt an unexplainable emptiness, as if each success hollowed him further. He demanded that Vayun teach him 'the secret of a fulfilled life', offering gold, influence, and even political connections. Vayun simply smiled and pointed to an old cracked water pot outside his hut. The pot, once used to store rainwater, had a narrow crack running through its middle, causing a slow, steady leak. Confused, Kirit dismissed the pot as an irrelevant relic. But Vayun insisted he carry it on a long walk down the mountain. Irritated yet desperate, the merchant obeyed. As he descended, water trickled out, nourishing small plants along the sunburnt path. By the time they reached the valley, the pot was nearly empty, but the once-wilted plants looked revived. Vayun then said, 'A vessel that tries to hold everything will always break. A vessel that lets what it cannot keep flow through it becomes a source of life.' Still refusing to understand, Kirit argued that if he kept giving away what he earned, he would soon lose everything. Vayun replied, 'You lose only what was never truly yours—fear, pride, possessions that possess you.' He explained that the crack in the pot was not a flaw but a reminder that usefulness often emerges not from perfection but from the willingness to let go. Kirit realized that his constant accumulation had made him a prisoner of his own success; he had built an empire but forgotten himself within it. Years later, Kirit became known not for his wealth but for his unusual generosity: he funded scholars, supported dying traditions, and helped small traders rise. His business did not shrink; rather, it stabilized, because customers trusted a man who no longer chased profit at any cost. And though he never matched his earlier pace of expansion, he found something more durable than growth—peace born not from possession, but from purpose. The cracked pot remained outside Vayun's hermitage, not as a symbol of loss, but as a quiet reminder that some of life's greatest transformations happen when one learns that holding on tightly is far more burdensome than letting go. What can be most reasonably inferred from the passage?