Outwitting Fate – Part I

Hello friends,

Recently I read a story which I felt like sharing with everyone. This is a folk tale from Tamilnadu. The story is too long to be told in one part so I will do it in 2-3 parts.

A young Brahman in search of knowledge had heard of about a great sage and philosopher who lived in the heart of a dense forest, far from the madness of civilization. So he walked for days through the thorns of the jungle and the menace of wild beasts till he reached the lonely cottage on the bank of a river where the great sage lived. The old sage welcomed the young seeker, accepted him as his disciple, and gave him a place to stay in his hut, the young man served the master and his wife in various ways, did some household chores, and learned all he could from the old master.

Now the old man was still youthful, and in his old age his wife became pregnant for the first time. Just when she was eight months through her pregnancy, the sage had a desire to go and visit the source of the holy river by which he lived. As he could not take her with him, he entrusted her to the care of his disciple and another sage’s wife.

The old sage’s wife was ready to give birth and, at the appropriate time, went into labor. The women friend stayed with her inside the cottage and the disciple waited outside, anxiously praying that she should safely give birth to a healthy baby.

Now, Hindus believe that Brahma, the Creator, is present at the birth of every child and writes on the new born infant’s forehead his or her future fortunes. He is supposed to arrive just at the moment of birth, just when the child leaves the mother’s womb to enter the world. He is, of course invisible to ordinary mortals. But the young disciple’s eyes were not exactly those of any ordinary mortal. His master has given him all kinds of knowledge and various powers. So he was startled to see a person entering, most unceremoniously, the cottage where his master’s wife was giving birth.

To be contd……