There was once a young Brahman who while on a spiritual quest came to an old sage who was well versed in the ways of Brahma, the creator in Hindu Mythology. According to myth Brahma arrives at every person’s birth and stamps their fate on their head.
While the sage’s wife was pregnant he went on a quest and left her in the care of the Brahman. Standing guard at the opening of the home a man attempted to walk into the room where the wife was giving birth. The Brahman stopped him and would not permit him to enter into the home. The man was Brahma who was shocked that the Brahman saw him for he was supposed to be invisible during the birth of a child. The Brahman allowed Brahma to continue what he was doing, however, when Brahma attempted to leave the Brahman stopped him and asked what the fate was for the child of his beloved sage. Brahma told him under a vow of secrecy that the son of the sage would live for the rest of his life on one cow and a bag of rice. The Brahman was deeply troubled by this but he continued to suffer in silence. A few years later it was the same situation, Brahma appeared again and again was asked the fate of the baby girl that was just born. Sadly Brahma told him that the sage’s daughter would live her life as a prostitute. The Brahman was devastated his sadness forced him to leave the home of the sage to go on a long journey. When he returned many years later the children had grown and the sage was dead.
First he went to the home of the sage’s son who lived in a run down shack with his wife and children. Everyday he would go to market and sell the milk his cow made which gave him just enough money to buy a bag of rice to feed his family. The Brahman thought about the situation and then presented a solution. He told the sage’s son to take his cow and bag of rice to market and sell them, with that money he was to buy a good meal for his family and give the remainder to Brahma. The son did as he was told and the next morning another cow and bag of rice had appeared behind his house. The Brahman told him to do this everyday to take care of his family the moment he kept any extra for himself it would not work anymore.
The Brahman then went to the sage’s daughter who was living as a prostitute. After some thought the Brahman’s solution was that she lock her door and not let any man in unless he had a full string of salt water pearls (which were extremely hard to find), she was then told to take the pearls to market the next morning and sell them only taking what was needed and give the rest to Brahma. She did as she was told and Brahma himself was the only one who came. From that point on she was to do this everyday and she would become the prestigious lover of a god.
Satisfied with what he had done the Brahman went away. Leaving the town he came across a very tired man leading a cow with one hand, a string of pearls in the other hand and a sack of rice on his head. The Brahman had to do a double take for he realized that it was Brahma. He asked him why he was so tired and he said that every night he had to deliver the cow and a bag of rice to one home and the pearls to another. The Brahman smiled, he then said if the sage’s children were released from their fate he wouldn’t have to do this anymore. Brahma did just that and they lived happily ever after.
