THE SCHOLAR AND THE BOATMAN
THE SCHOLAR AND THE BOATMAN There was a poor boatman in a village. He was illiterate. He used to row boat from morning til evening only to meet his both ends. There was a no meaning of knowledge to him. It was the month of Baishakh. A scholar got into his boat. He was enjoying his journey very much because the weather was very fine. It was almost dark. He was gossiping with the boatman. "Did you have any knowledge about the creation of the universe?" the scholar asked the boatman. "No," replied the boatman. The scholar got astonished and told him, "Without the knowledge of astronomy half of your life is spoit. The boatman was sad and thought of the uselessness of his life. He again asked the boatman, "Do you know about the history of human civilization?" The reply of the boatman was the same as before. This time the scholar told the boatman that he had already spoilt three-fourths of his life and he could not come to any use to the societ...