MOUTHPIECE OF THE VOICELESS
[A Story for Adolescents]
There was a village named Belvanshi where a young man named Asherra lived.
He had a large family. There were his parents, two elder brothers, two sisters-in-law, and two maternal uncles whom he called Mamaji. They all lived happily together.
His brothers used to farm, and his sisters-in-law took care of the household.
But Asherra did not do any work. He idled at home all day.
One day Asherra’s elder brother, Neil, asked: ‘Asherra, how long will you sit idle at home like this? Why not help the family by doing some work? Our parents want to tell you the same thing but hesitate.’
The other brother was less tolerant toward Asherra. He said: ‘There is no use explaining it to this lazy bone, brother Neil. There is no difference between explaining things to this fellow and playing the flute in front of the buffalo. I don’t know why he’s so dull!’
The elder sister-in-law stood there, listening. She said: ‘Believe me, there is only one way to help Asherra get back on the right track. Let’s find a suitable girl and get him married. Only then will he improve!’
Asherra did not like this.
‘Why, sister-in-law? Why marriage? I am not ready right now to take on the responsibilities of marriage.’
The brother was annoyed. ‘So, will you sit and rest like this all your life, Asherra? Won’t you help the family by earning something?’
‘But you guys are earning, aren’t you?’ Asherra said. ‘And much money is coming from Dad’s land too. Mamaji is also earning from his business. Our family has enough to live comfortably. How will I improve simply by getting married?’
The sister-in-law said: ‘Young, brother-in-law, why do you fear marriage? Your brother here was married to me at the same age. We are talking about your marriage so that you also know the responsibilities of marriage. Isn’t it?’
The second sister-in-law said: ‘You explained very well, Sister. Everyone in this village is talking about why Asherra is still unmarried. I wouldn’t say I liked listening to the gossip. So, I was about to speak to Asherra about this. But I am glad that you have finally spoken to him.’
Hearing all this, Asherra felt that if he stayed in this house, everyone would finally force him to get married.
He didn’t know what to do and went to bed early.
The clock struck midnight. The whole village was asleep. Asherra suddenly got up from bed, packed some food for himself, and quietly left the house without informing anyone. He wanted to go to another village to earn income and become self-sufficient. With this objective in mind, he began his journey.
Asherra had walked away a long way as morning turned into a hot afternoon. The sun was blazing hot, and it felt like the sun god was unhappy. The heat was so intense that Asherra collapsed under the shade of a nearby tree. He mumbled in a dazed state.
‘I feel very thirsty… I’m feeling very thirsty, give me some water. Water… Water… Please give me some water…help me….my throat is parched… Ah, someone help, please! Please give me some water! Some water… Ah!’
Suddenly, the tree shading Asherra started to sway and shake, and a leaf fell into Asherra’s mouth. The thirsty Asherra swallowed the leaf and lay unconscious for a long time. After a while, he woke up suddenly. He felt he had gained much strength.
Asherra wondered as he rose to his feet.
‘Hey, how did this happen? I was so weak when I reached here. How did I obtain so much force suddenly?’
The young man looked on every side. There was no one around.
‘The place looks deserted. Then, who has helped me?’
Asherra picked up his sac, lost in thought, and resumed his journey.
On reaching another village, he took out food from his sac and satisfied his hunger. After the meal, he went around the new village, asking people for work.
At one place, he found a shopkeeper and called: ‘Brother? Oh, brother?’
‘Yes? What is it?’ The shopkeeper asked.
‘Can I find a job in your shop?’
The shopkeeper eyed Asherra. ‘‘Hey, young man, you look like you belong to a well-to-do family. Why are you looking for work? And what work can you do?’
‘Don’t say that, brother,’ Asherra said. ‘I need to work. I’ll do any work. Please, hire me for any work. I’ll do anything, brother. Please!’
‘I am sorry,’ said the shop owner. ‘We don’t have any work right now. But when it happens, I will call you for work.’
Asherra was very sad to hear this. He continued his journey, visited two or three more shops, and asked for work. But he was unable to find a job anywhere.
Asherra got upset and started thinking. The sun was already setting. Asherra wondered where he would stay at night. Then, he realized that he had made a mistake and decided to go back home.
On his way back home, the young man saw from a distance something illuminating on the way. When he went closer, he found a tree. As the sun was disappearing below the horizon, Asherra discovered that the leaves of that small tree were twinkling like little stars. He looked surprised.
‘Is this a miracle? Why is this tree glimmering like this? I went this way in the morning but didn’t remember seeing anything so unusual!’
Then, Asherra remembered.
‘But, wait! Yes! This is where I fainted this morning! Yes, I fell under this very tree!’
Asherra was lost in thought when he heard a strange voice from nearby. Asherra turned to look but found no one.
‘Brother! Oh, brother!’
The soft voice called again. Asherra tried to listen more attentively. He soon realized the voice was coming from the tree where he stood! Yes, the tree was talking!
He turned and stared at the tree.
‘Yes, Son! I’m the one speaking,’ said the tree. ‘My name is Sanjivani.”
Asherra looked at the tree open-mouthed.
‘Don’t be afraid!’ the tree continued. ‘At one time, I was a human, like you. I was a medicine man, a village doctor. One day an angry sage cursed me because of one of my mistakes and turned me into this tree!
‘Curse? Turned you into a tree?’ Asherra asked, looking confused. ‘But why did the sage curse you?’
Sanjivani, the tree, began to narrate his story.
‘One day, I traveled from one village to a neighboring town to visit a friend. On the way, I passed through a dense forest. There I saw a deer lying under a tree in an injured state. The deer was severely wounded and could not move from its place due to the injury. It was writhing in pain. Seeing the miserable deer, I decided to cure it by treatment. But the next moment, I thought it would take too long, and I was in a hurry. The night was also approaching. I hesitated between helping the poor animal and continuing my journey. I thought: ‘What difference does it make finally? This happens with animals in the forest all the time. If I sit down to treat everyone here, my whole life will be spent in the woods.
Having reasoned with myself, I moved ahead.
At the same time, I saw a sage walking toward me from the opposite direction. I recognized the sage. He was the most celebrated Rishi in the whole area. He was well-known for his power but also his quick temper. People were afraid of his anger and especially his curses— ’
Sanjivani became quiet.
‘Then what happened?’ Asherra asked, looking eager to hear the rest of the story.
‘That was my mistake, young man,” Sanjivani said. The Rishi had already seen me abandoning the wounded deer and moving forward on my journey.
He looked at me angrily as he stopped me.
‘Sorry, Great Sage! I made a grave mistake,’ I apologized. ‘I’ll go and attend to that deer right now.’
‘O, the sinner!” The sage shouted angrily. ‘If I hadn’t come this way, you would have left that wounded deer in its current condition without treatment!’
‘Forgive me, Great Guru!’ I cried. ‘I will ensure that I never repeat such a mistake. Please pity me! I have a family waiting for me back home!’
‘And what about this poor animal? Don’t you think there might be a mate or something waiting for it too?’
‘Mercy, great Saint! Mercy!’ I implored.
But the furious sage could not be pacified. He went on.
‘You are cruel and selfish and don’t deserve to be a healer. You don’t deserve any forgiveness, either! Your conscience is dead! You do not know what compassion can be. You are human; you can speak, you can think! But birds and animals are mute creatures; they are voiceless. Your duty as a healer is to protect injured beings, whether humans or animals. But you did not think it necessary to do so!’
I was full of remorse and so frightened that I could not speak another word.
‘What you have done is a grave sin!’ said the sage. ‘Therefore, I curse you for that! From this instant, you will become a tree and stand in this forest forever!’ cursed Rishi. “This tree will be a reminder of who you really are!’
‘And the next moment, I was transformed into this tree!’
Asherra listened, lost for words.
‘Finding myself in this miserable condition,’ Sanjivani continued, ‘I begged the sage repeatedly to forgive me, but he did not take back his curse. Then, I implored the all-knowing Sage to show me how to end the terrible situation at least.’
‘Please tell me, great Sage, when and how can I get free from this curse?’ I wept and implored.
At last, the wise sage gave in and showed some kindness. He looked at me and said: ‘It is good that you accept your mistakes and resolve not to repeat them. Therefore, I will help you. Listen carefully. Exactly 140 years from now, a young man will come to you and fall helpless at your feet. With his help, you can get rid of my curse.’
‘How, Great Sant? How?’ I asked, eager to know more and hardly able to breathe.
‘You will have the power to communicate with that human being. This is what he should do. Before you regrow your new leaves, the man would need to carefully pluck all the leaves of your tree, grind them down into a paste, and extract the juice to utilize the full benefits of your tree-like body. Then he must treat humanity, animals, and birds with that juice to liberate you from my curse. You will be free from this curse when you complete all the tasks according to my suggested prescription!’
‘I wanted to throw myself at the feet of the sage, but I could not move, for I was a tree. I could just weep and say: Glory to you, Blessed Sage! Thank you for showing this poor soul the way to salvation!’
Asherra had listened to Sanjivani with great interest. He wanted to help him.
‘So what do I have to do to rid you of your curse?’ Asherra asked.
‘O, Son! First, pluck all my leaves! all of them!’ said the Sanjivani tree. ‘Grind them into a fine paste. Then, extract the thick juice, which you will collect in as many small vials as required!’
“And then?’ asked Asherra.
‘Then you visit the villages. Treat whoever is ailing, irrespective of whether they are humans or animals. Cure them with my healing juice. Remember, this work should be done before my new leaves arrive. Only then will I get rid of the curse!
Asherra was glad to have some work to do as he still had not found any employment.
‘I will not only earn a little money with this work, but I will also earn a good name by treating and helping those suffering! I will become a healer!’ thought Asherra proudly.
That night he went to work. He plucked all the leaves from the tree.
Afterward, he started grinding them to a fine paste in a stone hand-grinding mill. Then he filled the extracted juice in many small vials and kept them safely in his large cloth sac.
Early in the morning, he picked up his heavy sac and started on a new journey as a healer. He went from house to house in every village, looking for ailing or injured patients. He administered the Sanjivani juice to them, and they healed promptly. Asherra spent the whole day going around the villages, helping different patients, and selling the healing juice cheaply.
Very soon, Asherra, the young healer, impressed the villagers, who began spreading the word about his healing skills to their neighbors. Wherever he went, people started gathering to buy the healing solution from him.
It was late at night when the Sanjivani juice ran out.
Asherra was pleased with himself for the first time in his life. He had earned money by working hard and had also obtained the respect and admiration of the people he had helped.
Asherra was full of thoughts as he returned to his resting place under the Sanjivani tree. He thought of the tree.
‘I’m wondering if Sanjivani has transformed into a human and has been released from the curse by now.’
Thus, full of thoughts, Asherra went back to the Sanjivani tree.
The tree was still standing in its place!
Asherra became anxious.
‘What are you thinking about, my son?’ asked a voice.
Asherra turned to face the tree and said: ‘Sire, I am confused. I spent the whole night and day making your healing potion and helping patients heal. But why haven’t you been liberated from your curse by now?’
‘I am liberated, Son!’ said the voice.
Asherra turned, squinting in the darkness. The tree had disappeared. In its place stood an older man with long silver hair and a beard. He looked like an ancient mage.
‘O, my son,’ Sanjivani said. ‘I never thought I would be free from the curse in this life. I thought I would have to spend my whole life as a tree. You came to my rescue like a god and freed me from the curse! I don’t know how I repay my debt to you.’
‘Sanjivani Sire,’ Asherra said, ‘Today I tasted fame and success for the first time. And that is because of you! I also earned money and respect, again thanks to you. You also taught me today the real meaning of being a good human being. I must thank you, grand Sire!’ However, now, I want to return home because I left my family without telling them where I was going. They must be worried about me.’
‘Farewell, then, my son,’ Sanjivani said. ‘Remember, always assist the helpless. Be the mouthpiece of the voiceless. You will never find your life empty! My gratitude will always accompany you!’
With these words, the elderly Sanjivani walked away and disappeared into the night.
Asherra picked up his sac and took his journey back home.
On reaching home, he found his family looking sad and worried.
‘I am home, elder brother!’ exclaimed Asherra reaching the doorstep.
‘Asherra!’ his parents cried.
“Where have you been, son?’ said the mother, wiping her tears.
‘You don’t know how upset we were because of you, Asherra,’ said the older brother.
‘Forgive me, please!’ Asherra said. ‘I was scared when all of you threatened me with marriage! I had no choice but to run away from here! I am sorry! I will never do this again.’
‘But where did you go, brother-in-law?’ asked the sister-in-law.
‘I went to the neighboring villages and looked for work there. I also came to understand what life is all about. I have earned some money, Big Brother, and fame as a healer!’
‘Healer?’ asked the eldest sister-in-law. ‘You? A healer?’
Yes, sister-in-law! A healer!’
And Asherra recounted to his family the strange experiences from his recent journey away from home.
That night, Asherra retired early to his bedroom. His cloth sac was lying on the bed. Before preparing to go to bed, he went to remove it. Upon picking it up, he was taken aback by its weight. It seemed to have more weight than it ought to. Asherra opened it and looked inside. His astonishment was palpable upon discovering that his sac was brimming with the small vials of the Sanjivani potion. And yet, he was fully aware that he had sold the last vial before departing from the village.
Asherra stood still in front of the window, looking out to the moon, when he thought he heard a whispering voice in his ears.
‘‘Always assist the helpless. Be the mouthpiece of the voiceless. You will never find your life empty! My gratitude will always accompany you!”
That night, Asherra resolved. He would never be selfish again. He would care for and assist all who sought help, whether humans, animals, or birds.
