The story of Maha Kali and the woodcutter.

Here is a very interesting story of Maha Kali.

Once a woodcutter, due to heavy rains and very poor visibility was stuck in the forest overnight. Because he could not go home, he climbed up the tree where he intended to stay till morning. Suddenly a tantric came there and set up a small patch near the tree for his mantra sadhana. Before starting his mantra sadhana he prayed to Maha Kali, ‘O my dear beloved Maa Kali, I have been chanting your mantra for decades now, but I have not been able to appease you. I am thirsty for just one vision of you. After trying everything, today I start yet another mantra sadhana in the forest in the hope to appease you. Accept my sadhana please!’. Saying this the tantric bowed down and started chanting the mantra. After a few chants suddenly lightening struck and the tantric died on the spot.

The woodcutter was horrified to see this. After a few moments something came over him. He climbed down the tree and sat next to the dead tantric and using his set up started chanting the mantra. Just three chants and suddenly a vision appeared in front of him. It was Maa Kali herself in front of him in all her splendour!

The woodcutter was taken aback.  Before he could recover from the shock, Maa Kali addressed him, ‘tell me son what is your wish? Say and it will be fulfilled!’. The woodcutter could not understand this. He asked Maa Kali, ‘This tantric has been chanting your name for decades and here he is, dead and not having been able to appease you. And I just chanted your name thrice, without any knowledge and here you are right in front of me. I don’t understand this Maa Kali….’

Maa Kali had a hearty laugh. Then she explained, ‘My dear son, the tantric still has many lifetimes to go before he will be able to get a vision of me. His time here was done. You on the other hand had been immersed in my bhakti since lifetimes. In the last lifetime only three chants were remaining, which you unfortunately could not complete. And that’s why you were stuck here today in the forest to complete what was left from the last lifetime’.

This is how the divine works. Any spiritual work you do, be it chanting, bhakti, service, healing for self or others, meditation, it never goes waste. We have a very short-term view of this single lifetime. But you have been carrying forward a lot of things from the past lifetime and a lot of things you are doing right now will be carried forward to future lifetimes. So sometimes you may do a lot of spiritual work and not see any result. Do not give up. Maybe something you have undertaken is so big it may need future lifetimes to complete. Be happy that at least you have started off on something so big. Never loose heart. And always continue your practices as you are intuitively guided with full faith in the Divine. All spiritual work always works, though in different ways!

A part of the story taken from the book ‘The ancient science of mantras’ by Om Swami, presented in my way with my learning.