Bedtime Stories for Kids - The Passage to Heaven

The Passage to Heaven


At the approach of a village called Manipur, Govind was intrigued to see that the crop in the fields outside the village looked dry for lack of irrigation; but a lake near them was full to the brim! Even a more strange sight was in store for him. He saw some villagers watering rows of mango and tamarind trees which were quite grown up. "Are these people crazy?" he wondered. He went closer to them and asked, "A little water could save the crop. Instead of doing anything in that regard, you are wasting your time and labor on trees that do not need any water! What's the idea behind it, Please?" "Well, sir, the lake belongs to the landlord. These trees too belong to him. All we are doing is to put his water at the roots of his trees. The order is his and he alone can tell you what the idea behind it is!" answered the villagers. Govind felt disgusted. "I don't understand his strange conduct. Why should he not water the cornfields?" he asked. "But the cornfields are ours. Why should he waste his water on our fields?" "His water, is it? As if his grandfather had imported the water!" commented Govind. "Please, sir, don't bring his grandfather. His grandfather, Jai was a truly great man. He would first ask the villagers to make use of the water from his lake. Only then he would water his own fields. His son, Raj was neither good nor bad. He would water his own fields first but would let the others use the remaining water. The present landlord, Hari, does not like anyone to benefit from his water."


Govind understood how selfish the landlord was. "I must try to change his practice," he decided. He spent the whole day amidst the villagers. By and by he learned that while the landlord was mean and miserly, the villagers were a peace-loving people. He learned further that the landlord often worried about life after death, and kept on asking mendicants and astrologers what might happen to his soul after his death. Govind resolved to take advantage of this trait of the landlord's character. The landlord was in the habit of taking a stroll around his lake early in the morning. The sight of his own crop looking lush beside the pale crop of the others seemed to please him. The next day, out on his usual stroll, the landlord saw a holy man standing knee-deep in his lake. The holy man was filling his jug with water and emptying it again. The landlord observed him doing so time and again. Then he went close to the lake and asked, "O holy man, what is the rite you are performing?" The holy man started. "I never thought that someone would spy upon me so early in the morning!" he murmured. "But I am curious to know what you were doing!" said the landlord politely. He had great awe for holy men. "I cannot utter a lie. But don't tell others what I tell you. I was searching for a jugful of freshwater but in vain. The soul of the late landlord, Raj, is in much trouble, suspended midway between heaven and hell. Only if I could offer to the gods a jugful of freshwater on his behalf, he could pass on to heaven!" said the holy man.