E - WHEN MANU DIED

WHEN MANU DIED

Manu breathed his last. Death was standing patiently outside Life's
boundary. As soon as Manu breathed his last, Death got hold of the
'Vessel of Deeds' and was back to his world.

Death had a lot of work to do now. He had to sort out Manu's deeds
under two heads, 'Good' and 'Bad'. The assistants in charge were called
to sit with their registers to enter the deeds into their record
books.

On one register, 'Good Deeds' was inscribed on the cover in white bold
letters. The one handling this register was the representative from
Heaven. This representative was fair, good looking, cheerful and very
soft spoken and sat in front of Death waiting to note down Manu's good
deeds.

The other register had the words 'Bad Deeds' inscribed on the cover in
black bold letters. This register was to be written by a representative
from Hell who was fat and dark, with an ugly look and a weird smile.
The bad deeds of Manu would be written in this register.

Death put his hand into the vessel and took out the first deed to be
registered. It said, "Manu had never looked after his family properly.
He used to beat up his wife after getting drunk and took no interest in
bringing up his children."

"This goes into the register of 'Bad Deeds', said Death.

The assistant from hell wrote it down in his register. The second deed
was brought out. This deed mentioned, "Manu had been involved in a
kidnapping case and it resulted in the death of the kidnapped
child.

"This again can be put in the Bad Deeds register," said Death.

The representative from hell was very happy and said, "I think Manu has
a bagful of bad deeds and I will be the one to take his soul with
me".

The other one kept quiet and waited patiently for Death to take out
Manu's next deed.

This time it read, "Manu had been kind to the poor and the needy and
had helped them and saved their lives when they were dying of hunger
and cold. This one can be registered in Good Deeds.

"See the next one," were the words from the one with the weird
smile.

"This deed tells of another good work of Manu. He had taken care to
plant trees to maintain the ecological balance so that man would not be
endangered. He had taken up this project and included many others to
join hands in his Grow More Trees project. Note it down in your Good
Deeds register," said Death.

The next deed said, "Manu believed in God and prayed everyday. He knew
he sinned and so asked God to forgive him and show him the way to
become a better person. This also finds a place in Good Deeds," said
Death.

"Manu was fond of gambling and was a womaniser. He squandered money for
merry making. This goes into Bad Deeds," said Death.

Death had carried a vessel full of deeds. It took a lot of time to sort
it out and put them down on the registers.

At Manu's house there was a lot of crying, Manu's wife and children
were in tears. His wife was in grief for she lost her husband and was
widowed, his children were also grief stricken at the loss of their
father. Manu had never been a good husband or a loving or caring
father. But the fact was, he was the head of the family and his absence
would be felt.

Arrangements were on to carry the dead body to the burning ghat.
Friends, relatives, neighbours, had gathered at Manu's house to see him
for the last time.

In Death's world they had not finished with their recording of deeds.
Finally the vessel was empty and the counting started. In the end it
was found that Manu had equal number of good and bad deeds. Ultimately
Death was in a dilemma, as to where would Manu's soul land up. The soul
had either to go to heaven or to hell, but could not be left free to
move about in the air. The two representatives were at a tug of war.
Death suggested that they should find out a way to solve this crisis.
The first chance was given to the representative from Heaven to give
his view. After some thoughtful moments, the representative suggested,
"If Manu is to get a place in heaven, then it is too late. He is dead
and there is no chance for him to do anything more. If by chance either
a finger or a toe or any part of Manu's dead body does show a slight
movement all by itself, may be for seconds only, then Manu's soul goes
with me to Heaven."

Death looked thoughtful but the representative from Hell was happy and
said, "If this does not happen, Manu's soul goes with me to
Hell."

"Done," was the reply from the other two. The three of them returned to
Manu's house to have a look at his dead body. The people there were
getting ready to take Manu on his last journey. They were about to
cover his body with a white linen, when one of them observed that the
small finger on Manu's right hand made a slight movement and then was
still again. This movement was also seen by those three, but they
waited to see the reactions of the people there. The person who had
seen the finger move, shouted, "See Manu's small finger is moving."
Others looked at him in disbelief. To convince them he said, "Believe
me I did see Manu's small finger move." From among the gathering one of
them said, "Medical science says that, hours after death when the dead
body starts cooling, parts of the body like a finger or a toe may show
signs of slight movement before becoming stiff. This is not my version
but I have heard it. How much of truth is attached to it that I can't
say."

All this while, Death and the two representatives, were hearing to the
discussion that was going on. The representative from Heaven jumped up
with joy and said, "Manu had moved his small finger and I will take him
to heaven with me."

Death was very happy that at last Manu's soul could find a place for
himself rather than hanging around in the air. He asked Heaven's
representative, "Were you aware that such a thing could happen?" At
this the representative replied, "I had seen such things happening in
many earlier cases and so suggested for this to get out of the crisis
and find a place for Manu's soul. I never knew that I would be the one
to take Manu's soul with me."

"You have cheated me," cried out the representative of Hell. He closed
his register and went back to his abode. Death was happy because Manu's
soul found a place before the body was cremated.

On earth Manu's body was burnt to ashes and his soul found its place in
heaven.