A woodcutter and death, a story by Swami

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Light and Love

 

There was a woodcutter once, going daily into the forest and collecting a

bundle of fuel which he sold in the village nearby for pittance, which just

sufficed to keep his wife ad children alive. One morning, while he was stepping

out of his hut, the wife reminded him that it was Yugaadhi (the Thelugu New Year

festival) the next day; she pleaded with him to collect a heavier bundle of fuel

that day, so that they could get a few more Paise to give the children a morsel

of sweet rice each. The man nodded assent and walked on. He succeeded in

gathering an extra huge bundle, but, with that heavy load on his head, he was

soon exhausted; he had to deposit it on the ground, before he could approach

the village. This set him thinking of his plight.

He had lost all his old zest for living. He called upon the angel of death,

the Mruthya Dhevatha, to relieve him. He cried, "O death! Have you no mercy

towards me? Why have you forgotten me, so long? How I wish I could die and

escape from this daily grind?" The angel of death took pity on him, and

appeared before him, to fulfil his wish. But, the woodcutter suddenly receded,

he cleverly changed the purpose of his appeal to the angel. He had no wish to

die, though in his despair, he had called for her help. He said, "No, no. I had

no one here to lift this bundle on to my head, so I called on you to come to my

aid. That was the only reason behind my prayer. Please help me to lift this

burden and place it on my head; I have to reach the village soon!" Since man is

innately immortal, he recedes from the grasp of death, the will to live is very

strong, much more persistent than the will to die. (The Divine Discourse of

Sathya Sai Baba. "Diamonds In The Dust," 25 October 1974, Prashanthi Nilayam).

 

Namaste - Reet