GOOD DEEDS
Now You’re going to meet a boy I met during the Dassara festival. I hope you’ll like him as much as I do!
It seemed that when he was growing up, my friend Mohan was a shepherd for a wealthy family of Parsees named Masters. Parsees were originally from Persia and came to India to escape religious persecution. The Masters family owned not only the sheep but the entire mountain where the sheep grazed. There were many flocks and little Mohan was the shepherd for only one of them. Actually, he was treated like a member of the family because he was smart and attended school. His dream was to be a teacher!
It asked Mohan if he ever got bored just being a shepherd and he said that he really enjoyed it because he’d play so many games in his imagination. Often he’d pretend that the sheep were his students. Once he had a very exciting adventure with robbers and stolen money and stuff like that. He said that Sai Baba actually appeared to him. Of course, I asked him to tell me about it. So now I’ll tell you, OK?
The Masters family lived in a big old houses at the foot of their tall green mountain. Mohan said that he loved that mountain a lot and knew every single rock and crevice for hiding and playing games. Every spring he would take his little flock up one side and every autumn, he would bring them back down. Actually, he sort of followed the sun which is interesting because Parsees worship the sun, just as they revere all of nature. Shintoists do, too, don’t they? I guess we learned something!
Well, one afternoon, it seemed that old Mrs. Masters (They called her Mamaee.), was in the garden with her grandchildren, baby Rustom and his elder brother, Sohrab. Sohrab was Mohan’s friend and later on, he told Mohan how the adventure started in the first place.
The old lady and the children sat in the garden on a soft blanket woven from their own fine wool. Mamaee taught them, as she often did, the truth as spoken by Zarathustra. Zarathustra, or zoroastra, was their great Saint. He was like Christ is for the Christians.
“What are the five virtues of our religions, sohrab?” the old lady asked.
They are goodness, concord, peace, charity, and holiness, Mamaee,” her grandson answered.
“Correct, and what is the highest virtue?” she continued.
Righteousness,” he answered. ’But how fine and soft this wool is, isn’t it Mamaee? He was wanting to go out and play. “Father says our sheep are the whitest and softest to be found and that their blood lines are almost as old as ours!”
This really irritated the old lady because it sounded like boasting. “Although it is true that our family is well-bred, you must never boast, Sohrab, especially about something that is not your accomplishment.
“I know, Mamaee, Mohan is my best friend and he is only a shepherd! I don’t mean to sound proud.”
“Mohan is a nice boy but he doesn’t talk very much. He seems timid. And as for this wool being soft,” she said frowning, “It is good that it is of fine quality because your father has decided to stop selling off lambs and to make wool our only livelihood.”
“Oh, I know, Mamaee,” exclaimed Sohrab. “I am very happy and so is Mohan. It broke our hearts to hear the lambs bleating for their mothers in the spring. I think that it is because father has become a devotee of Sri Sathya Sai Baba that he has decided that it is not righteous to sell them for meat. Aren’t you happy, Mamaee, really, in your heart?”
“I suppose I am. Zarathustra says that happiness comes to those who practice righteousness for its own sake,” quoted the old lady.
Old Mrs. Masters really enjoyed these peaceful times talking to Sohrab.
