A long
time ago, in a small village, there lived a wise mother with the name Shanti.
Through meditation and knowing the true nature of life, she developed
tranquillity of mind and lived virtuously. She created and maintained the
charity house in the village, and gave free food to travellers, poor and the
hungry.
She had a son who assisted her. One day, early in the
morning, he went to the garden to gather flowers. He accidentally crossed the
path of a poisonous snake and it bit him. The poison was too strong. He
instantly turned blue and died on the spot.
Nala, a benign farmer saw this from far across and
rushed to help him. Alas! The son of virtuous mother Shanti was already dead.
The farmer angrily ran behind the snake. Searching all over the place he
successfully bound the snake with a string and brought it before Shanti.
He said, “Mother! This wretched snake is the reason
for the death of your only son. Please tell me how you want to see this snake
die. Shall I throw it into fire, cut it into pieces, or smash its head with a
rock? This infamous destroyer of your son does not deserve to live anymore.”
Shanti replied, “Nala, I know that you mean well but
release this snake. It does not deserve death in your hands. Why do you sink
into doing such an evil act of this nature? Remember that when someone harms
us, we need not harm in return. Harming them only adds to the wounds that we
already have. To cross the ocean of life we must remain light like a boat that
crosses the lake. If you make yourself heavy by acting on vengeance, you will
sink to the bottom of the ocean of life like a heavy rock. Also, by killing
this snake my son will not be restored to life and by letting him alive no harm
will be caused to you. Then why would you kill this creature?”
Nala said, “Mother, you are exceedingly kind. These
words are true only for the enlightened and other noble ones. It is not
practical because this snake is the reason for your sorrow and so we must kill
this snake. Enlightened ones assign time as the cause for everything and
eliminate their grief. But practical men decrease their grief through revenge.
Therefore, be practical and decrease your grief by destroying this snake. And
please tell me how you want to see this snake die.”
She replied, “Death and birth do not depend on us;
they are predestined. Wise do not harbour resentment, because resentment leads
to pain. Be a compassionate person, forgive and release this snake. What is
right in tormenting and killing an enemy? What is wrong in freeing an enemy
under our control? You are a benign farmer why should you not forgive this
snake. Releasing it alive will give you positive karmic benefits.”
“A great number of creatures ought to be protected
from this wicked one. By killing this one, we will be saving multiple lives
like that of your son. If not for your son, I am determined that we must kill
this to protect the other innocents from this wicked snake. Though killing
might be negative karma but allowing it to live will lead to much more negative
karma because of the unforeseen deaths that would occur because of this snake.”
The enlightened Shanti repeatedly requested the farmer
not to kill the snake. She did not approve his act. Nala was unable to disobey
her and therefore continuously argued and requested her permission.
The snake, painfully bound with the cord, sighed a
little and with great difficulty uttered these words, “What is my fault in this
sequence? I do not have free will and cannot make independent decisions. The
god of death aided me on this errand saying ‘Today, kill the one who crosses
your path’. By that direction, I bit her son and not out of any anger or choice
on my part. If you think any mistake is made it is made by her son because he
crossed my path.”
“Even if you have done this action because of that god
of death, the fact that you performed the act makes you guilty. You have
confessed your guilt and therefore you deserve death at my hands.”
“For a seed to grow into a plant the land must be
fertile, the pests should keep away, the climate must be right, and other such
things are all regarded as causes but none among them is an independent cause.
Even I am not an independent cause and therefore do not blame me. You must
think that all the causes working in unison produce result and with certainty,
doubt arises in cause and effect. Therefore, this is not a fault of mine and I
do not deserve death on this account. If you still think someone is guilty then
the guilt lies in the aggregate of causes.”
The angry farmer screamed, “I do not care whether you
are the primary cause or an agent. The point remains that her son is dead
because of your poison. Therefore, you deserve death penalty. This is true
until the world accepts ‘when an evil act is done the doer must be left
unpunished’. Having been an agent of this action, you deserve death. Please
cooperate with me and die.”
The snake protested, “Whether cause exists or not, no
immediate effect is produced without exertion. You will be making a mistake if
you do not consider the chain that led me to exert. If you think I am the cause
and plan to kill me, then you must also kill everyone who incited me to this
end.”
“Why do you blabber? You deserve death in my hands
because of your own atrocious act.”
The terrified snake passed the blame. “Please listen
to me! When a king builds a monument, the architect, engineers, artisans and
many workers work hard to ensure successful completion. Only the name of the
king stays and no one else gets any merit. My action must be regarded in that
respect. Akin to a king directing everyone to join hands and build a monument,
the god of death directed me. If you insist on considering someone guilty then
it is the god of death whom you should punish and not me. Please express your
anger at that power.”
The god of death took the embodied form of an ascetic
with an aura and appeared in front of them. Addressing the snake, the ascetic
with an aura said, “Guided by time, I sent you on this errand. Therefore,
neither you nor I am the cause for the death; it is time itself. Just as the
sun sets according to the time, rain showers according to time, and several
actions by numerous movable and immovable creatures happen according to the
wishes of time. Time influences the whole universe. Time influences all actions
in this world, all abstentions and all the modifications. Time creates and
destroys all the existent and nonexistent objects. Knowing that time is
all-powerful why do you consider me guilty? You know that this is not my fault,
then why do you pass the blame?”
The snake replied, “I do not blame you nor do I
absolve you from the blame. I only asserted that you influenced my actions. It
is not for me to answer whether the blame belongs to that of time or not. I
have no right to do so. I only say that the blame does not belong to me.” Then
the snake turned to the farmer and said, “Nala, you have listened to what the
god of death had to say. Therefore, it is improper of you to torture me by
keeping me tied. Please release me.”
Nala replied, “I have heard your conversation. Both of
you are the reason for his death. Hence, I consider both of you guilty of the
offence. I always thought the gods perform good deeds but now I know that gods
perform wicked deeds as well. I shall kill both of you for this wretched act.”
God of death replied, “We are not free agents but
dependent on time. Time provides with the reasons for action and we are
ordained to carry out our duty. If you think through this, you will not find
fault with us.”
The farmer said, “If both of you are dependent of
time, then I am curious to know how pleasure and pain are caused?”
God of death replied, “Everything happens under the
influence of time. Time is the cause for everything and time provides the
reason for everything.”
Time in the embodied form of a meditating ascetic with
a moving clock in his heart flew down from the sky and reached the scene of
disputation. Floating in the air at an elevated level above all the four, he
said, “We three (snake, god of death, time) are not guilty of the death of any
creature. We are the immediate exciting causes of the event. Destiny of her son
formed the exciting cause of our action in this matter. We all are subject to
the influence of destiny. He has met with death as the result of his destiny
and the exertion influenced by his destiny. Everyone can appreciate the
futility of exertion in living beings. One does not succeed in everything that
one exerts. One succeeds only in those that one exerts in which one is destined
to succeed. Therefore neither are you, nor am I, nor god of death, nor the
snake, nor the mother is the cause of his death. He himself is the cause here.”
Saying so, time in the embodied form vanished and so
did the god of death. Shanti convinced in her mind that man enjoys pleasure and
pain according to their destiny, said,
“Nala, we may be grieving but let us not
hold on to the snake. Let it free.” The snake returned to his abode and the
farmer Nala became consoled in mind.
