Learning with the Mother

FOR THE CHILDREN BY THE CHILDREN

One day in Oct 1951, when the six of us (Chum, Jhumur, Bubu, Gauri, Parul and myself) went to Mother’s room upstairs, The Mother asked us to write stories to improve our French. All the six girls were between the ages of thirteen and fifteen at that time. She said that She would bring out a book of stories entitled For the Children, By the Children (Pour les Enfants, Par les Enfants).

The Mother telling a story in the Green group class

The Mother during this period also sanctioned from the library a set of books which were folk tales and legends of different countries. These collected volumes were in the reference section of the Ashram library and were not issued to anyone but Mother asked me to take one book at a time and directed the librarian to issue them to me as a special case. These books were in English.

When we started writing the stories, I took some ideas from these books. I wrote four stories in French, while the other friends wrote one each. These were extensively corrected by The Mother. The Mother then read out these stories in the Friday classes.

When I gave my fifth story to The Mother, She corrected a part of it only and it remained in Her room for a long time as She did not get any time for correction.

Facsimile of a page of a story written by Tara and corrected by the Mother

Finally, She asked me to take it to Yatanti di, an elderly French teacher in the Ashram school, who then corrected the rest of the fifth story. In all these stories, as you will see, the Mother has left intact the childlike spirit. In spite of the heavy corrections, we have translated and reproduced them here.

Stories written by Tara Jauhar and corrected by the Mother

Ant as a teacher

Early one morning I went out for a walk in the garden. What a beautiful morning it was! I sat on a bench and looked up at the bright blue sky. The first rays of sunlight touched and woke everyone up. Numerous flowers bloomed all over the place and the air filled with their sweet fragrance. The grass was still wet with dewdrops. It was a happy and beautiful moment. Suddenly I saw a big cockroach in front of me. It was dead and lay still on the grass.

A few minutes later an ant came by. It stopped near the cockroach and watched it. Then it took a few rounds around the insect surveying it, probably trying to figure out how to eat such a tasty morsel. It tried biting it, pulling it, but alas! The cockroach was too big and heavy for the small ant. After a few more minutes of struggling with it, the ant suddenly went away as if it had a treasure and went away quickly to get it. Its destination was a small hole nearby.

A minute or two later big ants emerged from the hole and marched towards the cockroach. Twelve young, strong ants going for a battle. I was curious, so I watched them intently. Without wasting a single moment, they gathered around the cockroach and started biting into the dead insect, breaking it into very small pieces. After sometime I realized there was nothing left of the cockroach, only a large mound of cockroach powder. Feeling victorious after completion of their battle, they marched right back into their hole.

Next I saw thousands of ants coming out of the hole walking in a line towards the cockroach mound. These ants were not as big as the earlier ones nor were they as small as the first one that I saw. They were somewhat medium in size. Extremely aware of their responsibility, they immediately got busy in doing their work. Each one picked up one tiny cockroach granule and walked back to their hole. This process continued for sometime till the entire mound had been transferred into their hole. Next a few of them together caught hold of one wing and carried it inside. Another group of ants carried the other wing. So in about half an hour the ant family together had managed to take the entire cockroach to their home. I was engrossed in watching this entire incident and it made me think.

We human beings consider ourselves to be learned and knowledgeable but an insect as small as an ant can teach us so many things... it teaches us to follow rules, be disciplined and work together as a single unit. For them there is no substitute to hard work. They do not fight with each other, or rebel or strike against the authority. They believe in unity, and work as one unified group. I have heard that they do not have a brain, they are not enlightened creatures. In the process of evolution, ants occupy a much lower level than human beings. We are intelligent beings and science and technology have ensured that we remain supreme. Unfortunately, we lack these certain qualities that those tiny ants have. If only we could imbibe these qualities then we would be a much happier group, the world would be a happier place to live in.

Japanese Folklore

Before reading my story ‘Japanese Folklore’ in the class, The Mother spoke about Japan where She had spent several years.

The Mother:

Suppose today someone asks you “What do you mean by Japan?” what would your reaction be? Wouldn’t you be surprised? Wouldn’t you be thinking, “How ignorant is this person? What kind of a question is this? Do you ever ask what is the meaning of India, England, France, America? Everyone knows that they are large land masses, countries, continents etc. You are absolutely right, but Japan is still different from the others. It is not a single land mass like America or India. Japan is an island;

actually it is a group of small islands formed very close to each other in the middle of the sea. If you see the World map, in comparison to Japan, both India and America are large countries. Naturally Japan has a much smaller population than either India or America, but in terms of chivalry, bravery, efficiency and perfection, this country has acquired a position equal to and comparable to any of the larger countries.

Geographically, Japan has very little of flat land, mostly it is covered with big and small mountains of which a large number are volcanic in nature. Anytime without any warning these volcanoes erupt, spewing hot molten lava which flows all over the mountain sides, burning and destroying all that comes in its way... small villages, houses, farmlands, everything. When such an eruption is going to occur no one knows but the Japanese are always prepared to face such natural calamities. On one hand they have learned to quietly accept this fiery nature of God and on the other hand they have equipped themselves to rebuild all that gets destroyed with a smiling face. No other country or its people can boast of such an undaunted spirit and enthusiasm.

Before I proceed further with today’s story I suddenly remembered to tell you some more things about the Japanese. It will help you to know a little more of the Japanese uniqueness. I have heard this from Pavitra. He was in Japan in the year 1923 and had personally witnessed this. Once all the volcanoes erupted together. Japan had not known so much destruction and devastation earlier. The tremors of the earthquakes were felt world wide and Japan had lost more than 50% of its people. In a period of quietness between the volcanic eruptions Pavitra asked his group of students to go to their chemical laboratory situated a few miles away and study these volcanoes. They started in the evening and had to walk the six miles to the laboratory as there were no vehicles on the road and power transmission was severely damaged. While walking down the streets they realised that all parks and other open spaces were gradually filling up with people. Fathers — mothers — brothers — sisters — friends, everyone was leaving their homes and gathering outside. Some had lost everything, while some had partially damaged houses. Some houses were still crumbling down. There was destruction everywhere. But, the amazing thing according to Pavitra was, no one was crying or screaming or expressing his grief. Everyone was silent, even children were not crying. The Japanese know from the time they are born that these things happen. It is expected to happen and they have accepted this as a way of life. With renewed vigour and energy, they would rebuild all that had been damaged and lost.

Walking further down the road, they saw a huge store which sold clothes, had caught fire. People — the owners and the workers together were struggling to save the store. When they realised that it was beyond control, they started calling everyone to take away whatever they wanted to from the shop. Fearing a law and order problem the police stepped in and stopped this activity.

Finally, Pavitra and his students reached their laboratory. Wooden stairs led to their 2nd floor laboratory. Opening the door all of them were relieved. Unexpectedly but surprisingly there was not much damage. Only from time to time the house was shaking terribly. They removed all potentially dangerous acids and other chemicals to a safer place and walked back to their homes. While returning they witnessed further destruction... wooden houses burning furiously; broken doors, windows, stairs littered all over; people stuck in the upper floors of apartment buildings calling the police for help; and the policemen and fire fighters fighting and struggling to help and save as many people as they can. Pavitra and his students also joined in helping the others. They threw thick ropes and rope ladders to windows on higher floors so that people could scramble down to safety. What was unique was that amidst all this drama no one created any unnecessary chaos. Just think, here in our daily life even if there is a small problem or issue we scream, complain and fight with each other, while the Japanese, even in a life and death situation like this quietly go about doing their duty. Of course the government helps the people as much as it can, but the Japanese people quietly go about doing their work.

Now let’s listen to today’s story. It’s a small story, I hope all of you like it and there are lots of things that you can learn from this story written by Tara:

Long ago there was a village along the coast of the ocean. On the other two sides of the village two huge mountains stood majestically looking towards the sky. On one peak stood a Shinto temple while on the other mountain peak lived Hama-Guchi-Goh, the head and the senior most person of that village. The village had only 500 people. They were simple people and farming or fishing was the only source of income. Everyone loved and respected Hama-Guchi-Goh, because he was a very loving and caring person. He was very wise and helpful too. He loved to help anyone who needed his help and he did it with all his heart. He was like a father and a mother to all the villagers. They used to share both their troubles and happiness with him. He had his own fields, and farming was his means of living. He was old now, more than 100 years; so he could not work in the fields any more. His son took care of the farming.

Once the whole village was being brightly decorated for celebrating a Shinto festival. They hung beautifully coloured paper lanterns on bamboo poles on all the lanes in the village. It looked as if the whole village was adorned with lovely ornaments...

As Hama-Guchi-Goh was now an old man, he could not climb up and down the mountain. He was watching the proceedings from his balcony along with his youngest grandson Choshiro. All his other family members had gone to the village to celebrate. Gradually the present faded into his past and Hama-Guchi was transported back to his childhood when he was very young and enjoyed this festival with his parents.

Suddenly he woke up from his dream and looked straight ahead at the ocean. The entire ocean was fast receding towards the horizon. The other villagers too noticed this. They were surprised and since they did not know what was happening they ran to the shore to watch. Within minutes the whole village was empty. Why was everyone running towards the ocean? No one knew. It was as if the ocean too was getting wild with the festivities and was pulling everyone towards itself. By now it had moved about three kms away from the base of the mountains.

With a shock Hama-Guchi recalled a similar incident which had occurred when he was a child, when he was his grandson’s age or maybe even younger, his grandfather had narrated this story to him...... He knew exactly what was happening, there was not much time and he started thinking of what he could do now. If he sent Choshiro to the coast to tell the people what was happening and ask them to return it would take a lot of time. Again Choshiro could run down this mountain, climb up the other mountain, and ring the temple bell. Hearing the bell ringing, people would definitely come over..but where was the time? Time was very crucial now. A brilliant idea flashed through his mind. The old man sent Choshiro to bring him a torch. The Japanese people always kept torches in their homes because when the ocean becomes wild and there are hurricanes and tornadoes creating havoc then electricity is always affected and torches are the only source of light. Choshiro ran inside and got a big torch for his grandfather. Hama-Guchi lit the torch and went to his fields behind the house. His paddy fields were green and stocks of rice and grain were neatly arranged on one side. This was his ration for the whole year. Hama-Guchi went and lit fire to all the stocked rice and hay bundles. A scared Choshiro started crying. He thought that his dear grandfather had gone mad. Hama-Guchi did not pay attention to Choshiro’s crying. He went about quietly lighting each bundle, one by one. Only after the last one had caught fire did he let the torch go and turned to look at the ocean and the shore. He saw exactly what he had anticipated

On this side, fire was having fun with nature. Sending huge tongues of fire towards the sky it was creating havoc in the fields. Down below the villagers saw the huge fire and started running up the mountain. They realised that the fire was coming from Hama-Guchi’s house. Saving their dear leader’s house became their first priority; so everybody ran towards the mountain. Again the temple priests seeing the fire started ringing the bell so all the other people started running towards the mountain.

First came the youth of the village. Since they were the strongest and fittest they reached first. Out of breath and panting they started dousing the fire but Hama-Guchi stopped them and asked them to wait. Everyone was surprised by this instruction but since they respected and trusted their leader completely, they kept quiet and waited. Choshiro was uncontrollable,

seeing so many people around him he cried even more loudly and in between his sobs he narrated to everyone how his grandfather lit the fire. Screaming at the top of his voice he was telling everyone that his grandfather had gone mad.

Now they could see younger children climbing up the mountain. Behind them came the ladies and the elderly people of the village. Finally everyone from the village had come and sat in front of their dear leader. All had only one question in their minds...how did the fields catch fire and why is it not being doused but allowed to burn? It was difficult for them to believe all that Choshiro was saying but there was no reason to disbelieve him either. Finally Hama-Guchi asked if everyone had come and no one else was left behind in the village. The villagers replied in unison that all had come, no one was left below.

Hama-Guchi then pointed his finger towards the ocean and asked everyone to watch what was happening. All eyes now turned towards the ocean and they were spellbound at what they saw. From the horizon, to where the ocean had receded, it was now coming back as one huge mass of water at great speed, thundering and growling fiercely running towards the shore like a mad woman. The first wave itself washed away the whole village. The villagers realised how powerful each wave was when hit the base of the mountain and sprays of water drenched the villagers. The waves came in continuously, breaking at the foot of the two mountains, and bringing along with them ruin of the village.

After a few hours when the ocean had calmed down, then everyone realised that there was no sign of the village. In its place remained a devastated flat land but all the 500 people of the village were saved only because of the sharp presence of mind of Hama-Guchi. It was only then that the villagers realised why the old man had lit the fire and thanked him over and over again for saving their lives. Hama-Guchi in the process had become a pauper again. He had willingly burnt all his wealth in the fire to save his people but he was a happy man as all his near and dear ones were sitting around him now. Everyone was eager to help him but how would they? They themselves had lost every thing to the ocean, unwillingly.

After many days, the Japanese government gave monetary compensation and helped in rebuilding the village. The Japanese people have never forgotten Hama-Guchi, and how he destroyed all he had to save his people. The story of Hama-Guchi has become a folklore which all grandfathers tell their grandchildren, generation after generation.

So you see becoming a leader is not easy. A genuine leader is a person who thinks about his people first and then about himself. He always thinks of what will benefit his people, how to save and protect them from all calamities even at the expense of his own happiness. He takes responsibility of all their problems, issues and troubles, spends his own wealth for his people’s development. A person who helps all who are dependent on him happily, is always ready to give up his own life to save all others just like Hama- Guchi- Goh did for his 500 neighbours.

True Courage

A poor man lived with his wife and children in a small hut. He worked with a business man in his shop for a very meagre salary. It was difficult to live a decent life with his small earnings but he somehow managed. As time passed it was becoming more and more difficult to survive on such a meagre earning as the cost of living was increasing day by day.

The season of festivals, starting with Durga Puja was around the corner. It was in the air, the cool autumn breeze, the falling leaves and the white fluffy clouds sailing across the clear blue sky, everyone was waiting for the mother goddess to come for these four days and be a part of their lives. From young children to their grandparents, all were discussing how to welcome “Maa Durga”. Everyone waits for a whole year for this festival. The mothers and grand-mothers get busy in preparing for the rituals while children are happy because they get lots of new clothes and new shoes to wear, good food to eat, and new toys to play with.

Our protagonist as well as the poor man’s children were also happy that ‘Durga puja’ was coming. His son wanted a soldier’s attire while his daughter wanted a light blue coloured frock. They also wished and expected that their father would buy some new toys for them.

But the father was very sad. He loved his children very much but he did not have the extra money required to buy these things. He did not want to hurt his children so he tried to borrow some money but no one gave him. What was he to do? Pujas were only ten days away!

That day was his pay day. He went to work as usual in the shop but he could not concentrate in his work. Often his mind drifted towards his eagerly waiting children’s faces and he felt miserable because he would not be able to get anything for them.

At the end of the day, the cashier handed over his salary in an envelope. The man took the envelope and walked home. At home, as he was counting his money, he realised that he had a one hundred rupee note extra.

“This note must have come by mistake in my envelope,” he thought.

“Good, because of this mistake I’ll be able to bring a smile on my children’s faces. Its ages since I bought a new saree for my wife. My shoes are torn and I’ll be able to buy another pair of shoes.”

“But this is not your money. It does not belong to you”, said someone from within, his conscience was telling him.

“You cannot spend this money. Tomorrow when you go to the shop to work, return it to the cashier.”

“No one knows that I have this money, so even if I spend it no one will think that it is not my money which I’m spending”. He started arguing with his inner voice.

“Yes, that is true, and all the more necessary that you return the money. People think that you are a good man and you cannot do anything wrong. So when you get an opportunity to do something wrong, then you will do it just like you want to do now, taking advantage of the trust that others have in you. In this way you can trick others but you cannot trick me. So do not hesitate, the first thing you do tomorrow is return the money”.

“My wife and children will be very happy when they get this money.”

“Do you think that you can make your family happy with clothes, food and other things? You practise honesty in your life first and then you teach your family to be always honest and truthful. Only then will they really be rich and wealthy from within and there will be true happiness in your family. But, if you do what you said just now, do you know how much trouble you will land yourself in? Your family depends completely on you, then how will you make them happy when you yourself have landed in trouble?”

“I need money very badly right now.”

“Why are you feeling upset? If you really need money it will surely come to you. If you think you need something which you do not have then it means that you actually do not require it.”

The whole night our poor man spent fighting with his conscience and his devil’s spirit. In the end his conscience won, he decided to return the money to the shop.

The next morning when he reached the shop he went to the cashier and returned the hundred rupee note telling him that he found this extra note in his envelope.

“I am very pleased to see your honesty. The money was not a mistake. This year business has been good and we have made a lot of profit, so we decided to share the extra money amongst all our employees. We know that all of us need more money before the Pujas so this amount of hundred rupees is your share of the profit”, replied the cashier.

When a country is attacked then her soldiers fight with all their strength and valour to save the motherland from the enemies. We praise our soldiers. We show our respect. But what about those men who believe in truth and fight against all the injustices and wrong doings that happen in today’s life? They are as courageous as our soldiers. True fighters will always take truth’s side. They will always fight against all that is not true. To do this they have to face a lot of danger and troubles but they still do it. In the end victory is guaranteed for these people just like our man who was very happy in the end as he finally did get to spend the money on his family. His wife and children too were very happy and proud of him.

Simplicity

The sun was setting on this small village in France. Darkness of the night was fast setting in and along with it came a heavy shower of snow. A young boy around fourteen years of age was walking alone on the deserted street. He was walking towards the monastery which he could see far away. He wanted a place to stay for the night. He had been walking the whole day and had knocked on a few doors trying to find a place for the night but had been unsuccessful.

It was not like this always. Once he was a performer in a circus. His father owned the circus. He had taught his son many acrobatics and disciplines. He could walk on a tight rope fixed high up on the tent. He rode a single wheel cycle and showed many acrobatics. Twenty chairs were stacked one on top of the other and he would perform on top of this stack. He could slip his entire body through a tyre so small that only a person’s head could pass through. Such a skilful boy he was.

One day while performing on the trapeze swing, his father slipped and fell and hurt himself. Two days later he died and the boy was orphaned. His mother had died earlier when he was only two years old. He did not remember his mother’s face anymore. After his father’s death the other members of the circus did not allow this boy to stay with them any longer. Poor child was completely alone in this world now. He walked on the streets hungry and tired. He performed acrobatics on the streets and earned a few pennies. With that he used to buy a little bit of food whenever he was hungry. He was trying to live on his own. The whole day he used to perform on the streets and earn some money and during the night would sleep wherever he found some space, be it under a tree or on the pavement or on some bench in some park.

The Mother narrating a story

For the past few days it had been snowing very heavily. No one was venturing out, every one stayed inside. So the boy did not have an audience to perform, therefore he could not earn and had nothing to eat. And where would he sleep? Thick snow had covered everything so he had no place to sleep. No one was ready to give him shelter in their house either. Suddenly he remembered the monastery. So he crossed the road and walked towards it. He knocked at the door of the monastery a few times. A priest opened the door and asked what he wanted. The boy said that he wanted a shelter for the night. The priest let him in, first gave him some food to eat and then showed him a corner to sleep for the night. Next morning the boy, before leaving went to say thank you and pay his regards to the head priest.

The head priest felt sympathetic towards the boy and asked him about his life. The boy sat down and narrated his life story ending it with the fact that he had no one to take care of or to love. The head priest thought for a moment and then told the boy that if he worked at the monastery then they could allow him to stay there. The boy was happy and extremely grateful and thanked the head priest over and over again.

The boy started working from that day on. He happily and sincerely did whatever he was asked to do. He never complained. In the evenings he would go and sit near the head priest and listen to all the stories that he used to tell. Sometimes he would narrate stories from his life at the circus. Days passed in this manner and both the boy and the head priest started loving each other and were gradually getting closer and closer to each other.

After a few months the head priest realised that there was a change in the boy’s behaviour. He remained quiet and lonely, all by himself, not talking too much, as if he was enjoying being alone. He would sit under the Banyan tree or in a corner of his room and looked towards the sky and think. Finally the head priest asked him what was wrong but he refused to tell him anything.

One day the head priest heard the boy sitting under a tree talking to himself,

“I have been living in this monastery for quite some time now but what am I actually doing? The learned monks here all read the scriptures but I cannot because I do not know how to read. Every morning they say their prayers but I cannot because I have not learned the prayers. How can I talk to my mother?»

A few days later the head priest noticed that the boy was smiling and happy. There was an aura around the boy.

He thought, “There must be a reason for this change. I must keep a watch on him and see what he does the whole day.»

Every afternoon when the meditation hall was empty and no one was around then the boy used to quietly go into the room and lock the door. The head priest watched through the key hole.

Inside the boy stood in front of the Mother’s idol and said, “All these wise and learned men read the scriptures and pray to you but neither do I know how to read nor do I know how to pray. But I will show you what I can do, perform for you the acrobatics that I had learnt in the circus. Today I will show you a new game. Tell me if you like it or not”.

He threw the ball that he was carrying high then turned, stood on his hands and caught the ball with his feet. He did this with 25 balls, juggling them and then catching them with his feet. In the end he took two somersaults and then stood on his feet.

He went and stood in front of the idol and said, “How was the performance, Mother? It was not so good, was it?”

Then a divine light emerged from the idol gradually and stood before the boy. The boy knelt down and bowed his head. The divine light covered his body and tears were flowing uncontrollably.

The Mother came closer, blessed him and said, “My dear child, you have performed very well and have made me very happy. Please show me such games, newer games every day and they will all be as good or even better. I am very pleased with you.”

With that the divine light was absorbed back into the idol.

The head priest was stunned at what he saw.

Then he told himself, “Now I understand that only a child’s innocent simplicity can please God.”

Goodwill

This time we are going to see how goodwill can be instrumental in making everybody your friend; how animals themselves feel and appreciate it and how eager they are to reciprocate the love that they receive.

During the first part of the British rule there existed a small state in western India. The state was small but very prosperous. Its aging king had employed Puran Bhagat as minister.

Puran Bhagat was well educated. He was good natured and his face mirrored great intelligence. Everybody used to love him and respect him for his noble character and great personality.

He used to work a lot and very fast too. The state prospered even more, thanks to his deft organisation. Everybody was content in this country.

Suddenly people heard that Puran Bhagat had resigned, nobody knew the reason. Sadness and an atmosphere of gloom descended on the country.

Large crowds of people walked to the residence of the minister. They saw Puran Bhagat leave his home all alone and walk towards them barefoot.

On seeing him, the people stood on either side of the road with great respect and let him pass. They all understood that Puran Bhagat was leaving in search of a new light and they would not stop him but instead they started to follow him.

Puran Bhagat left the capital and started walking towards the north. After sometime, he turned towards his subjects and gently addressed them: “Go, return home, there is no point in accompanying me. I have been beckoned by a voice very powerful and I must move on. As for you, my friends, return to your homes.” Saying this, he continued on his way. His followers remained there and watched him go with tears.... they watched till they could see him no more.

Puran Bhagat moved on. He did not bother about food or shelter. He spent the night at times under the trees and at times in temples. He used to eat whatever he got.

Puran Bhagat’s mother was from the mountains, therefore he had an innate attraction for the mountains, it ran in his blood. He crossed through many fields and cities, finally he found himself at the foot of the Himalayas.

He crossed several mountains and valleys and at last took shelter in a temple situated on a high peak of the Himalayas. He found this place very beautiful. He gazed in front of him and saw the Himalayas crowned with white snow. Seated quietly, he resembled the King of Yogis. He was constantly bathed with the golden rays of the sun. Below, there was a dense forest of fir and deodars which draped his body like a green shawl. The clouds passed over them. Sometimes, they led him towards the top along the mountains and then disappeared in the sky. The place was beautiful like a painting!

Puran Bhagat was very happy and decided to stay on there from then on. There was a thick forest and almost 500 feet below there was a village.

Puran Bhagat cleaned the temple with small branches of trees. He lit a fire with some wood and sat down on a deer skin.

On seeing smoke rising from the temple, the people from the village came to see who inhabited the temple. The village priest bowed down in front of Puran Bhagat and said, “We are overjoyed to see you here. It will be an honour for us to look after you and feed you everyday.” A man from the village asked, “Do you have a blanket? Do you require anything to light a fire?”

Puran Bhagat looked at them and smiled quietly. The people were overjoyed with the calm look and while leaving, they said to themselves, “It is indeed a joy for us to have a real sadhak live in our temple after such a long time.”

Thus began Puran Bhagat’s journey. Now, he delved deep within himself in search of his soul. The village people used to come everyday with his food: bread, milk and fruits. They used to come and receive his blessings and asked him to pray for their happiness. The sadhak was deeply immersed in his sadhana. He was mounting higher and delving deeper. In the external world, days, months and years passed by but time had completely stopped for him.

Behind the temple, in the forest, on the trees used to live several monkeys. They used to observe the sadhak. One day, a very courageous monkey, full of curiosity, entered the temple. He dropped the bowl on the ground. He approached the deer skin and made all kinds of grimaces showing his teeth. Slowly, he developed more courage and sat down next to the sadhak and put out his paw for some food. The sadhak gave him some almonds which the monkey ate at once.

A few days later, he came back with some more monkeys, they sat around the fire as if they were the sadhak’s kith and kin. One of the monkeys remained with him all the time. During the day, he used to sit near the sadhak and quietly look at the Himalayas with its snow peaks, he looked like a wise man! At night, he used to sleep with the sadhak, under his blanket. During spring time, several monkeys came with their little ones and when the young ones were too naughty they were chided by the monkeys.

Then, there was a deer with big horns who came to rub himself against the wall. As soon as he smelt a human, he ran away into the forest. The next day he came back slowly and on observing that the sadhak was as silent as a statue, slowly started approaching him. Now, since the scent of the sadhak was pleasant to him, the deer came very near him. The sadhak put his hand around the deer’s neck. Two days later, the deer came back with his female and the little one. His blue eyes used to light up like fireflies in the night.

Then, the last one to approach the sadhak was the deer Kasturi. He was very shy, he had a magnificent appearance. The sadhak used to love these deer and always kept aside some food for them. He used to call them his “brothers”. Even during the day, if he called them, they came to him in the temple.

Pretty birds with coloured wings, a peacock and a bear with a white band on the neck, used to also come from time to time. Earlier, whenever the bear saw the sadhak pass by every morning in the forest, he used to rise with a ferocious air, ready to attack him. But the sadhak, never even threw a glance at him. Now, he too, like the others came to receive his share of affection from the sadhak.

Down below in the village, the people on seeing the wild animals coming regularly to the temple believed that it was the power of the sadhak which attracted them.

Years passed by, children who used to bring food grew up and sent their children with food for the sadhak. If someone asked, “Since when is the sadhak here?” The answer was, “Oh, he is here since eternity.”

One winter, many clouds gathered around the mountain, it started raining heavily and for three months it rained continuously Through the open door, the sadhak used to see the clouds rolling over the mountains like waves in the sea. They would then fall heavily in the form of rain below on the village. The village was covered with a humid mist. The people could not climb the mountain. The sadhak could not even meet any of his brothers from the forest. He thought to himself, “Nobody knows what has become of my brothers.”

Finally the rain stopped. Golden sunlight shone once again in the sky, on the mountain tops and on the leaves of the trees. The soft scent of wet earth wafted in the air. The sadhak thought that his wild friends would surely now come. He called them by their names but he got no reply. After seven radiant days, the rain started with renewed vigour. The rain flowed down the mountain forming hundreds of strong torrents. Their frightening sound reverberated in the air of these mountain regions.

One night, around midnight, the sadhak felt as if somebody was pulling him by his hand. He felt a furry hand and realised that it was one of his monkey friends. He held open his blanket and said, “Oh, there you are! Come sleep near me. The weather is very bad!” But the monkey kept pulling his hand.

The sadhak got up and asked him: “Are you hungry? I will go and see if I have something for you. But the monkey ran to the door of the temple, came towards him and forcefully pulled his hand again. His eyes were trying to say a lot of things that he could not express in words.

The sadhak asked him, “Why are you worked up? Has one of you been tricked? So you want me to leave this place? But why?”

At that moment, the deer with big horns entered the temple. So the sadhak said, “You see today ‘big horns’ has also come!” The deer entered the temple and with his big horns started to push the sadhak towards the door of the temple. The sadhak said, “But what is it? Is this how you express your friendship by pushing your friend out of the temple in this terrible rain?” But the deer kept pushing him all the while making a funny sound with its nose.

Suddenly there was a whistling sound in the temple ground and two stones pulled apart. The sadhak went to the door and saw a huge crevice along the mountain, next to the stairway of the temple and a fierce torrent which was gushing down the mountain. He said, “I understand now. The mountain is going to crumble and that is why you have come to look for me! But why should I go with you?”

Suddenly the sadhak’s eyes fell on his empty bowl. His face shone and brightened, full of compassion.

He remembered the brave people from the village who had fed him during all these years with so much devotion. He got an idea and he said, “Wait a while my brothers, I must go with you.” He lit a piece of wood and held it in his left hand and said to “Big horns”: “My brother, I have only two legs and you must help me.” Saying these words, he caught the deer by the neck and started to come down the mountain.

The night was dark and it was still raining. The monkey showed the way to the sadhak who was on his way to save the people of the village from certain death. After having come down the mountain, he found after some time, all his wild friends gathered together in a clearing and they were waiting for him: the monkeys, the deer family and the bear with his parents. The sadhak smiled and said to them, “Oh, you are waiting for me here and you sent your representatives to give me the news! Good! Let’s go!”

The sadhak walked ahead followed by the regiment of wild animals. He arrived in the village and knocked at the first door that he came across. Smelling the scent of human beings, the wild animals got very agitated. The bear was in a bad temper.

The sadhak knocked on the door and said in a loud voice, “Brave people who sleep, wake up! Call everybody and gather together, the mountain is going to crumble. There is not a minute to lose. Run and cross the plains that you see before you and climb on to the hill. We will follow you.”

The entire village woke up at once. Everyone ran towards the plains and following the instructions of the sadhak they reached the hill after crossing a not so deep stream. The sadhak followed them with his wild animals.

They walked for a long time and finally the deer stopped under the shade of Deodar trees on the hill. The sadhak understood that it was a safe spot as wild animals sense these things. He called the village people and said to them, “Count and see if all of you are present and remain here.” A head count was done by calling each one by his name and they found everybody was there.

Suddenly they heard a loud noise, which increased more and more and became deafening. The entire mountain was coming down. The Deodars and the pine trees were uprooted by the violent jerks. The noise lasted around five minutes and then everything was quiet.

In the morning, there stood no mountain, nor the pine and Deodar trees, nor the village. Everything had completely disappeared. Instead there was a big basin of water and slush. A mountain which measured nearly 2000 meters in height and one and half kilometre in length had been completely transformed into a plain surface. It was a terrible sight!

At the first light of the sun, the thankful people of the village came to thank the sadhak who had saved their lives, but they could not find him. After having saved the village people, he had left with his wild pack....

(Inspired from a story by Rudyard Kipling)