Silent Question Answered In Silence
Far in the westward direction was a range of hills. In a cave in the hills lived a certain hermit. He had the power to give the correct answer to any question one asked him, or the right solution to any problem. But to ask him a question was not easy. It was because finding him was not easy. First of all, it was almost an inaccessible range of hills. Secondly, even if one reached the hills, it was difficult to locate the cave which was the hermit's dwelling. Even if one succeeded in locating it, there was no guarantee that one would meet the hermit. He might be away in the forest or engrossed in meditation! However, Sudhir was determined to find him. He was very poor, though he never shunned work. The only dependant he had was his old mother. He felt ashamed of the fact that he could not feed her properly. He must ask the hermit how to end his misery. So, he began his westward journey. He walked on for three days without food and three nights without sleep. But it was impossible to continue like that. On the fourth day, in the evening, he knocked on the door of a small house and sought shelter for the night. The owner of the house, an old woman, not only gave him shelter, but also food. Sudhir did not hide anything about his mission from the woman.
In the morning, as Sudhir would assume his journey, the woman said, "Sonny, if you find the hermit, ask him a question on my behalf. I have a daughter who is dumb. Ask him how she can find speech". "I shall do so," promised Sudhir. For three more days and nights, he walked before he needed rest again. This time he became the guest of an old man who too had a problem. "Sonny! I have a lemon tree in the backyard of my house. It flowers profusely, but never fruitions. Will you please ask the hermit how to make it bear fruits?" said the old man. Sudhir promised to do so before taking leave of his host. He walked for three more days and nights before he reached the bank of a river. He sat on a rock and thought how to cross to the other side when he was frightened by a gigantic serpent raising its hood from the water. "Don't fret, young traveler, I mean no harm. Perhaps you wish to cross the river. But may I know why? All you have on the other side is a range of hills surrounded by a dangerous forest!" said the snake. "I wish to meet a certain hermit who answers questions correctly," said Sudhir. "I know of him. Let me take you to the other side." said the serpent and he carried Sudhir on his hood. When Sudhir dismounted, the serpent said, "I have a request. Please ask the hermit how I am to get back my true form. I have already lived as a serpent for a thousand years." Sudhir agreed to put the question to the hermit and left. He had to wander in the forest and the hills for three more days, narrowly escaping the fearful beasts, before he spied upon the hermit.
Sudhir was delighted to see that the hermit was in a mood to talk. But his delight was short-lived. The hermit agreed to answer any three questions, not four. Sudhir was in a fix. Whose question should he ignore? The old woman's? She must be anxiously waiting for the answer! So also must be the other two. Must he forgo his own question- for which he had taken so much pain, had risked his life? Well, that is what he finally decided to do! He duly put the three questions to the hermit and received the answers and took leave of him. Three days later he met the serpent. "Did you put my question to the hermit? If you did, what was his reply?" asked the serpent. "You shall be liberated from your present form the moment you do two good works," said Sudhir. "What are they?" "The first good work will be to take me to the other side of the bak," replied Sudhir. The serpent carried Sudhir to the other side. "And the second work would be to shed the jewel that is there on your hood," said Sudhir. "I cannot shed it unless someone plucks it. Will you please do it? You can then own it," proposed the serpent. Sudhir was happy to relieve the serpent of the jewel. At once the serpent changed into his real self- he was an angel under a curse- and blessed Sudhir and disappeared. Three days later Sudhir was at the old man's house.
"Your lemon tree will abound in fruits if you dig out the treasure that is buried under it," he informed the old man. The same evening they dug at the spot. What a treasure they found! A thousand pieces of gold! "Please, my son, take half of this," insisted the old man. Sudhir accepted the offer. Three days of walk again and he was at the old woman's hut. "Your daughter would begin speaking the moment she meets the young man whom she is destined to marry!" said Sudhir. He had hardly finished saying this when the woman's charming daughter came running there and, as soon as her eyes fell on Sudhir, asked, "Who is he, mother?" "She has spoken!" exclaimed the woman. The very next day their marriage was performed. Sudhir hired a cart and led his bride home. But his old mother had grown blind, weeping, on account of his absence. "Only if you could see, mother, what I have brought!" said Sudhir presenting to her the bride and the serpent's jewel. What a miracle! She could see - first the jewel and then the bride. The jewel had the power to restore sight to the blind. When the mother heard Sudhir's adventure in detail, she explained that by being selfless before the hermit, he had received the correct reply to the question that had remained unasked. Sudhir's question, after all, was, how he would get over his poverty.
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