The son said, “Definitely, Father, I will build a monument in your honour and I will give money to charity, the way you do. You have always been so kind and generous to the poor and the sick. Now let us not talk about it any further. It is such a painful topic.”
A few years passed and then the villager fell extremely ill. The best doctors were called in to treat him, but to no avail. They were able to keep the villager alive for three more months, but then he died. His possessions and money passed to his son, as he had planned. But when the son began to examine his father’s financial situation, he discovered that so much money had been spent on his father’s medical treatment that he died with next to nothing to his name.
The son felt very sad, but he wanted to keep the promise he had made to his father. He did not know how it would be possible now that he had no money, but he was determined not to break his sacred promise. Somehow he would fulfil his father’s loving wish.
A few days later the son went to a market where people were sold as slaves. He pinned a sign on his back that said, “I am ready to be a lifelong slave,” noting a certain wage that he wanted to receive each week. It was a very low amount, but he thought that if he could save the money, then gradually he would accumulate enough to erect a monument to his father. At the same time, he would be able to offer a little money to the poor on a regular basis.
A certain merchant saw the young man and agreed to his terms, so the young man went to work for him. He used to work very, very hard. With the little money that he earned, he helped the poor and kept something aside for his father’s monument.
One night the young man was not feeling well at all. Suddenly a beautiful lady appeared before him and began to treat him. After treating him, she gave him some money and then left. The lady gave him money again the following night, and then again the next night. In this way she was adding more and more to his meagre savings. One night he said to the lady, “I am a poor man, but I do not want to take any more money from you. Whatever money I receive from my master is more than enough for me.”
“No, no, no,” said the beautiful woman. “I want you to accept this money. You are a good man, a very good man.”
The beautiful woman continued coming to see him. One night she said to him, “I want to marry you.”
The young man was shocked. “Marry me? But I am so poor and you have so much money! What will people think? And I have promised my master that I will serve him all my life. I cannot break our agreement. It is impossible for me to marry you.”
But the beautiful woman would not accept his refusal. She said, “I have already dealt with everything. I asked your master how much money you would have to pay if you left him now. He told me a certain figure and I gave it to him, so you are not under any obligation to him. You are free to marry me if you wish. If you do not believe me, tomorrow you can go to your master and verify what I am saying.”
The next morning the young man went as usual to work for the merchant. When he saw the merchant, he asked, “Is it true that somebody came to see you concerning me?”
“Yes,” said the merchant. “I have received money for you. Now you are free to go home.”
So he married the beautiful lady and they went back to his village to live. When he arrived at his old house, he was unable to recognise it. It had become like a palace! His wife was so wealthy that she had transformed it in advance. He was very happy as he and his wife began their life together. Everybody appreciated the new couple. They were both kindhearted. Now the young man was able to fulfil his promise to his father most satisfactorily. His wife allowed him to draw as much money as he wanted from her bank account. He built a beautiful monument for his father and he gave lots of money to the poor.
A few years passed by and the young man and his wife were blessed with a child. The young man was filled with joy, but he noticed that his wife was a little sad, and he tried to reassure her. He said, “We have been so happy together. Now that we have a son, I promise you that my love for you will not decrease. Since you came into my life, I have been filled with joy. Nothing will change! My love will remain the same. Please, please, do not be sad!”
His wife said, in a very sad voice, “I know your love for me will remain, but my time is over. I am not an ordinary woman. I am a nymph. I came from a higher world because you are so kind and sincere. You wanted to keep the promise that you made to your father; you wanted to fulfil your dearest father’s wish. When he died, he could not leave any money for you. You were under no obligation to keep your promise, but you were prepared to undergo suffering and poverty all for the sake of your father’s wish.
“There is another world, an inner world. When human beings like yourself have very sincere and devoted wishes, we come from that inner world to try to help them fulfil their wishes so that they can be happy. That is why I came to you. Now I have played my role in your life. You have fulfilled your promise and I have given you a son who will love you the way you loved your own father. My time is over. Before I go, I will tell my maidservant how to care for the child properly so that you will not have to worry. Please, please try to be happy when I am gone. If you meet someone else and you would like to marry that person, I will have no objection. Your new wife will have my good wishes, love and blessings.”
While the young man watched in stunned silence, his wife gave some instructions to her maid and held her child for the last time. Then, with a final farewell look at her beloved husband, she disappeared forever.From:Sri Chinmoy,Amusement I enjoy, enlightenment I study, part 3, Agni Press, 1997
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