IN THE NEXT BIRTH

These days he has been dreaming deeply of something he never thought of. He looks idle and weak like a stressed man always does. He looks dull and fatigued.

It’s been a few days since he visited the hospital. A close friend has been admitted there long. Doctor had fixed the dying hour. He had visited the hospital, in the hope of meeting his bosom friend for the last time, before he died.

He never used soft words since olden days, but he is sure it’s good for him to have a worm attitude towards the dying friend. At the same time he can’t make up the words to please his friend’s heart.

When he reached the hospital, nobody was lying on the hospital bed except his friend. There was no change in the face of his friend. He thought his friend a bit thinner. Welcoming him warmly with a sweet smile his friend said without any expectation,

“I’ll die on Monday. It was a high time you visited me. My desire is meeting everyone before my destined death. It is uncertain whether I will be among you guys in my next birth or not.”

Today is Friday. Four days are left for the day, Monday. ‘Am I lucky’ he thinks aloud himself. Is it sure that doctor had ascertained the time of his dead?

His friend added, “Today is Friday. Within these four days I would like to meet whoever I know and think of.”

Getting 0n with what to do or say he says, “But doctor says you’ll be fine soon. You are here for only a few days as a kind of rest.”

His friend responded, “They are not going to lose the fruit of their labor. At the same time, I too have my conscience. On Monday I will surely die.”

In this friend’s condition, he is restless. He is at a loss. His friend added, “But a thing which I can’t understand is as which creature I am going to be reborn or incarnated in my next birth.”

It was a surprise to him hearing the words, ‘next birth’. He has been aloof from the matter since olden days. He is not interested in the matter since certain days whereas he doesn’t have the strength to object to his friend’s idea. He ponders it’s not a wise man’s job to object to the matter in that condition of his friend. His friend went on to say, “by dint of the good deeds a man did he is incarnated as man in the next birth. If somebody did a wrong, God had made him reborn as a lower creature for his wrong deeds”

He keeps listening to his friend’s words without much interest. He doesn’t have words to compliment or supplement to his friend’s idea. He can’t imagine whether the next birth or rebirth exists or not. He had already learnt the story about man’s evolution from the apes. During school days, he had come across the theory of evolution. But it does not include rebirth in the chapter of theory of evolution. It is a story of apes becoming rational beings, and also leaders of the creatures due to long passage of time. But he doesn’t believe in the theory that a human being is incarnated as a different creature after his death. Can turning a human being into an insect and vice versa this be possible?

His friend went on, “how fortunate my mother was as she is reborn again in human form”

He was amazed at his friend’s words. His friend’s old mother died long ago. Now is she incarnated as human being? Where? As whom? Is she incarnated as an old lady?

He asked, “Is that a matter of mother’s incarnation?”

With a bright smile, his friend responded, “no, it is a matter of her soul incarnated to somebody as human being after she had left her earthly body”

This happens to be an interesting story to him. He continued asking, “That means we can see her among us”

“Yes, she is among us”

“Where?”

His friend replied with a hearty laugh, “Didn’t you hear that a daughter had been born to our younger brother?”

“Yes, yes he got last year”

He knew his friend’s younger brother got a daughter; we were at the epan ceremony.

“Yes, that was the new birth of my mother”, his friend says.

“How is it?” he became eager to know it. His friend continued the story, “my mother was a great mother in her previous birth. She did many great works. We, human beings have seven births. According to our deeds we can be reborn in the same fold of human beings or we can be incarnated at the lower level of creatures. But this is the fourth birth of my mother. She has been incarnated since my grand folks.”

Again with a smile his friend said further, “Look how amazingly my younger brother’s daughter looks resembles my mother”

He slightly saw the baby on the day of her epan ceremony. But he can’t remember clearly due to the alcohol he consumed. But when observing the child’s face, it seems, she looks like my mother closely. His friend’s mother had died two years ago.

As he said, his words seem to be true. The child’s face exactly became more likened to his friend’s mother. He became uncertain about the next birth if it is happening or not.

It became interesting to listen to his friend’s story. He has been a close friend since early days. He has been known to his friend’s mother, too,  for many years. He was much pleased and happy because his friend’s mother treated him as his own son. The theory of his friend, ‘how a good man is reincarnated as human fold’ again makes all his mind and body absorbed in it.

As his friend continued the story he came back to sense to rejoin the external world. His friend repented, “but friend, what have I done in this birth?”

The question is directed towards him but he was answerless. Even though they were close friends they never shared such a thought. As time moves around nobody was able to give a deep thought to this matter. How happy they were during their school days!

It was not all about a single day. But many days in a month classes are avoided for watching a movie or sitting on the soft green grasses of the park. It was better than attending the boring last period of the school hours.

School days are over, college days, too. But after getting jobs, they had no more time for sitting in the park. What a fate of miracle! Working at the same office! They spent their time happily in the office. Their names were acknowledged for the efficient and timely delivery of services. But he never gave a thought about what good or bad works he had done in this present birth.

His friend further said, “How caring and kind our parents are towards us. They admitted us in a reputed school for our bright future. But do I please them? Were they satisfied with my deeds? Avoiding classes to enjoy a party or to watch cinema and climbing the Cheirao Hill on the occasion of the Meitei’s New Year Day, Cheiraoba, Are not all these naughty things against their wishes?

He did not always give any correct answer to their question. Lies are the only answers. I told my innocent parents to make them believe what I said.

To his friend’s words, he replied, “but we, too, have done great to please them, we cleared our exam with first class, at the same time we have job.”

With a faint smile his friend continued, “Above all these things, we can’t please them to their hearts’ content. How hard I tried to make it real, mother always came to know that it was a lie. Endlessly she said, never tell a lie. Speak the truth. She often thrashed me with a stick for telling lies. I always promised that I’ll always speak the truth in order to soften mother’s wrath.”

After a short pause he said, “But how much truth I had spoken remains uncertain to me as well. I can’t truly confess to my mother that I have used alcohol. Even in the case of open drunkenness I did not say that I have already been drunk. Huge bribes to oil my palms which came into my pocket given for the processing of the files on my table, I never tell my mother such things. Have I carried out any work without a penny, my friend?”

His friend retorted. He remained silent. The two remained quite speechless for a few moments. His mind remains restless. He can’t divert his mind from the theory of next birth of his friend.

That day he was discharged from the hospital, he felt a lot more bored. He kept on thinking of his friend, of the friend’s next birth, of the deeds of his friend. All these thoughts haunted his mind.

He is not sure whether it was right or wrong. Those things which filled up his pocket were customary in his office. He was doing his best to please them all, are they not the wages of his labor? Was that right or wrong? How are these deeds connected with next birth? The thought without a definite solution annoyed him more and more.

On Monday at 10 pm he got the news that his friend had died. There was not any surprise about that news to him.

He visited his friend’s wife after his friend’s death and shared a few sorrowful words.

For quite a long time, his friend did not develop any symptom of illness. Since long he had been complaining about his health once in a while. His friend felt something hard and rounded present inside his stomach. A number of times he had been x-rayed and examined but nothing concrete ensued. It was too late for us when he was diagnosed with cancer.

The friend’s wife narrated in a pensive mood. He was as if he had nothing to say. His friend’s age proved that he has still time to live longer, or he has a bad fate? To him whether to console her or not remained indecisive. So he remained silent. The friend’s wife said sadly,

“Monday is his birthday. Leaving for the heavenly abode on this day is also a great luck; we can’t keep him longer any more.”

While listening to his friend’s wife, he dreams about his friend’s theory of next birth. He is not sure what his friend’s next life will be like. His friend, too, didn’t promise him the fold into which he will be incarnated in his next birth.

Debachand

Translated by Parshuram Thingnam

corected by randhir kumar yendrembam ON 1^ST FEB, 2014