Jagdish Prasad Mandal (Original Maithili Short Story)
Rameshwar Prasad Mandal (English Translation)
The Poverty of True Vision
Durlabham Bharate Janma means that to be born in Bharat is a rare fortune. But why is it said so? What is the special quality or uniqueness of India that makes being born here considered such a high privilege? The answer lies in the fact that one who is born here grows and lives within the ethos of Indian culture.
The greatness of Indian culture has been that here wealth, luxury, and power have never been valued as highly as the moral worth of life itself. Greater respect has always been given to those who walk the path of restraint, purity, and virtuous conduct, even if from the material point of view they live in scarcity.
In the realm of knowledge, India has long held a place of honor, even if in today’s world many other nations have advanced further. From ancient times, the moral character of human beings here has been of a high order. On one side, the creation of such lofty character has been nurtured by a philosophy rooted in spirituality; on the other side, systems of power have often fostered the growth of degraded character.
It is well known that centuries of foreign rule in India did not only plunder its wealth but also its art, culture, and heritage. Even those who explained and spread India’s spiritual philosophy were not entirely free from fault. Most ordinary people, then as now, have been ignorant of the deeper truths of that philosophy. Many interpreters of spiritual thought, wishing to make their own lives more comfortable, presented explanations to the masses that served their own advantage, leading to the continued exploitation of the common people.
Just as every region has its villages, there is also a village named Madhavpur. In that village lives a man named Jugai, a cattle herder by occupation. Jugai is a simple and straightforward man who knows nothing of farming, and so he spends his days tending cattle. For those whose cows he herds, there is a fixed monthly payment, and this is the foundation of his livelihood.
Just as everything changes from moment to moment, people’s thoughts also keep changing. This is how the good can become bad, and the bad can become good. We see that people with noble ideas sometimes adopt base tendencies, while those with the lowest thoughts adopt virtuous habits and make their lives successful. This does not mean that all good people become corrupt, or that all corrupt people turn good. Good people can adopt even better qualities and become better still, while bad people may also deepen their bad habits and become worse.
Jugai herded the cows of four or five families. He worked in two daily shifts. In the morning shift, after the cows were milked, around eight o’clock, Jugai would eat his breakfast, walk along the lanes, untie each cow, and lead them out to the pasture. Between eleven and twelve, he would bring the cows back from the pasture and tie them at their respective owners’ posts. Then Jugai would go home, bathe, have his meal, and rest for a while. In the afternoon, he would again go to tend the cows. The owners paid Jugai a fixed monthly wage for his herding work.
When the month came to an end, Jugai went to collect his pay from Rameshwar. Rameshwar was a man well-versed in religious texts and legends. Though he had never received formal schooling, he had gathered his knowledge of scriptures through devotional gatherings and self-study. He sustained himself in the village by wandering about, telling stories, and reciting religious tales to both his own community and others. He did not earn through physical labor, yet his standard of living was comfortable enough.
That day Rameshwar was sitting at his doorway. As Jugai reached him, he said- “Uncle, the month’s herding is over. Please give me my wages.”
Rameshwar, accustomed to living off others’ earnings and skilled in the art of smooth talk, heard Jugai’s request and responded in a playful tone-
“Jugai, wages for what?”
“For herding your cow, Uncle,” Jugai replied.
Just as a courtesan’s voice can be sweet, so too can that of a cheat. In a gentle tone, Rameshwar said-
“Jugai, do you not know what the Vedanta, the scriptures, say about this?”
Simple and unlettered, Jugai replied- “No.”
Rameshwar said- “In the Vedanta it is written: Sarvam Brahmamayam Jagat.”
Not understanding what Rameshwar meant, Jugai said- “Uncle, I am not an educated man. My father died when I was a child, and since then I have earned my living by herding cows for the people of the village.”
Rameshwar continued- “Son, our scriptures say that the entire world is pervaded by Brahmamay. You are Brahma and so am I. Then why are you asking for herding wages, and how can I give them to you? Tell me that.”
Jugai had no knowledge of such tricks and reasoning. So in his mind he thought that, like other dishonest men, Rameshwar Uncle too was cheating him out of his wages. This was no different from the way he must have cheated in his earlier dealings. Jugai decided he would stop herding Rameshwar’s cows from the next day.
Resigned, Jugai said- “Uncle, I am going now.”
“Yes, yes, go,” Rameshwar replied.
Jugai set off toward home. A person’s thoughts rarely rise beyond the limits of their own knowledge. On the way, Jugai kept telling himself that from tomorrow he would not herd Rameshwar’s cows. But then another thought came: if he stopped, what other work was there for him to do? And almost immediately a third thought arose: there is no shortage of work in the world; he could leave Rameshwar Uncle’s cows and tend the cows of someone else instead.
With these thoughts running through his mind, Jugai left that place and went to the home of Rita Lal Bhai.
Everyone in the village knew that if anyone could match Rita Lal in being sharp and shrewd, there was no one. In speech and in action, he was unpredictable. No one could say when he would turn a ‘yes’ into a ‘no’ or a ‘no’ into a ‘yes.’ Yet society itself is like the sea, deeper than the ocean and larger than the mountains.
Rita Lal was in the garden. His wife was standing at the doorway.
Going up to her, Jugai asked- “Bhauji, where is Bhaiya?”
Rukmini replied- “He is in the southern garden.”
As soon as Rukmini spoke, Jugai walked toward the southern garden. Seeing Rita Lal Bhai, Jugai said-
“Bhaiya, I have come to meet you.”
Rita Lal asked- “Why?”
Jugai replied- “The month is over, give me my pay.”
Rita Lal said- “Jugai, have you remained a child all your life?”
Startled, Jugai asked- “What do you mean, Bhaiya?”
Rita Lal said- “Haven’t you heard of Lord Buddha? There are two kinds of men, one is Mayavi and the other is Tathagata. Lord Buddha’s other name is Tathagata.”
Hearing this, Jugai just stared at him blankly. Then Rita Lal continued- “Jugai, do you not even know what the great Buddha said?”
Not understanding the subject, but curious about Buddha’s words, Jugai replied- “No.”
Rita Lal said- “Buddha said Sarvam Kshanikam Asti. It means everything is momentary. The cows you herded before are now dead, and the cows that are here now are their calves. You are no longer the same, and I am no longer the same. We have both been reborn anew. Now tell me, for which work are you taking payment, and for which work am I to give it?”
Hearing this, Jugai’s heart sank. Seeing such open dishonesty, he felt like crying, but feeling powerless and helpless, he turned away and walked toward his home in tears.
A little further on, he saw Sonai Baba approaching from the opposite direction.
Sonai Baba was the oldest man in the village and also known as a man of his word. Whatever he said- he would do, and whatever he did, he would say.
Coming closer, Sonai Baba saw Jugai weeping and asked- “What happened, Jugai, that you are crying like this?”
Jugai said- “Baba, you know I earn my living by herding cows, and that is how my mother and I survive. I have a monthly arrangement, and when the month was over, I went to ask for my wages from Rameshwar Uncle and Rita Lal Bhaiya. Rameshwar Uncle said that everything is Brahmamay, and Rita Lal Bhaiya said that the one I was before is not the one I am now, and the one he was before is not the one he is now, so why should he pay me?”
Hearing this, Sonai Baba thought to himself and understood that Jugai had fallen into the net of two tricksters. It is because of such petty cheats that India’s spiritual philosophy has been reduced to poverty, and whatever remains will also soon be destroyed.
Sonai Baba said- “Jugai, do not cry. Go back to the village cheerfully. Tomorrow, as usual, go and take both their cows out to graze. On your way back, tie both cows at your place. When they come looking for them, repeat their own words back to them.”
Jugai found wisdom in Sonai Baba’s idea, and the pain in his heart began to lessen.
The next morning, he did exactly as Sonai Baba had instructed. In the evening, when the cows did not return to Rameshwar or Rita Lal, both men, shivering like frost-bitten cane in the cold month of Paush, came to Jugai’s place and found their cows tied up. Without saying a word, both handed over his wages and took their cows home.
अपन मंतव्य editorial.staff.videha@zohomail.in पर पठाउ।