A man engaged a boat to take him across the flooded Godavari. When the journey over the river started, he began a lively conversation with the boatman. He asked him whether he had any schooling and when the reply came that he had none, he said sadly, "Alas! A quarter of your life has gone to waste. It is as if you have drowned those years in the Godavari."
He asked him whether he could tell him the time from his watch. The boatmen confessed he did not have a watch nor cared to have one. The pundit deplored and said, "Half your life has gone into the Godavari."
The next question was about newspapers; did the boatman read any? What was his favourite paper? The boatman replied that he did not read any nor did he care to know the news. He had enough to worry about already. The pundit declared forthright that three quarters of the boatman's life had been wasted.
Just then the sky darkened with storm clouds and there was an imminent threat of rain. The boatmen turned to the pundit. It was his turn to put a question. He asked "Can you swim?" and when the frightened passenger confessed he could not, the boatman said, "In that case, your entire life is now going to merge in the Godavari."
(Quoted from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
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