A young woman was bitterly sobbing and weeping over the dead body of her husband, who had been bitten by a snake. According to Indian tradition, when somebody dies of a snake bite, he cannot be cremated; the dead body has to be thrown into the water. So the man’s relatives had brought his body to the bank of the river, but the wife was weeping bitterly and did not want them to throw the body into the water. All of a sudden, Troilanga Swami appeared. Everybody knew that he was a great spiritual Master. He took some mud and clay from the Ganges, placed it on the spot where the man had been bitten by the snake and massaged it a little.

Then Troilanga Swami jumped into the water. In a few minutes, the man opened his eyes, looked around and asked why they had brought him there. Then the man and his wife went their way.

Commentary:

Indeed, death is powerful, but spiritual power is infinitely more powerful. It reminds death that death cannot mark the end of life, for it is God’s Will that life will eternally flow in and through death. In this story, God’s Compassion-Power overrules His Justice-Power.

Sri Chinmoy