Devotee Keshav and the Merciful Mother

A very, very long time ago, there was a beautiful place named 'Bridge of Heaven'. In the middle of the deep blue ocean, there was a long strip of land where dark green pine trees danced vibrantly with the wind. This place was so beautiful that people used to say—"The gods and goddesses of the sky come to visit here!"Near that very place, in a small town, there lived a yogi named Keshav. He was very wise and kind. A bright, cheerful glow was always present on his face. While wandering around, when he reached the 'Bridge of Heaven', his happiness knew no bounds upon seeing its beauty!Keshav thought, "Wow! What a peaceful place! I will not go anywhere else now, I will stay right here to meditate on God and serve the villagers."He walked briskly up a nearby high mountain. There, beneath a large pine tree, he built a small and neat temple for the 'Compassionate Mother' (who is considered a treasure trove of mercy). Right next to the temple, he also built a small hut for himself.Keshav would sing hymns in a sweet voice all day long. His voice was so magical that even the colorful flowers of the mountains would nod their heads and listen to him. Birds and colorful butterflies would come and sit on his shoulders and hands! As soon as the villagers down below heard his hymns, they would forget all their tiredness and smile.The little children of the village loved Keshav very much. From time to time, the villagers would climb up the mountain to visit him and bring rice, lentils, or grains in their bowls. Keshav would also go down to the village to heal the sick with herbal medicines and tell delightful stories to the children.However, one year, something extraordinary happened in the village! No one had ever seen such heavy snow before. Fluffy white snow kept falling continuously from the sky for nine days—swish-swish... swish-swish! The people of the village stayed inside their houses warming themselves by the fire, but Keshav Yogi, who lived on the freezing mountain peak, fell into great trouble!His small hut was completely buried in snow. Even the temple vanished from sight. Keshav spent a few days by eating the little rice left in his bowl, but after that, all the food ran out. After staying hungry for many days, his body began to shiver violently from the cold. In a weak voice, he said, "Oh Compassionate Mother! If I don't get something to eat now, I will not survive."Keshav gently pushed open the door of his hut. Outside, there was nothing but a bed of white snow everywhere! Looking up at the sky, he closed his eyes and prayed, "Mother, save me! I still want to live in this world and serve the people."Just then, he saw a beautiful deer lying in the snow outside the hut. Due to the cold, it looked as if it had just died.Keshav felt a deep sorrow. He thought, "Poor deer! But how can I eat its meat? Eating meat is a sin in our religion!"Right at that moment, a sweet and resounding voice came from within his heart—"Keshav! If you die of hunger, who will give knowledge to these poor villagers? Who will help them when they are sick? If someone's life is saved and good comes out of it, changing the rules in times of such crisis does not bring sin, my child!"Upon hearing that voice, Keshav cut a small piece of meat, lit a fire, and cooked it. As soon as the hot food reached his stomach, a strange energy filled his body! The cold and hunger disappeared entirely. Overwhelmed with joy, he began to sing hymns once again.After a while, he thought—"I should not leave the dead deer just like this, I will bury it in the snow now." But when he stepped outside the hut, what a surprise! There was no deer at all! The strangest thing was that there was not even a single footprint of the deer in the snow! There was only clean snow everywhere. Keshav bit his tongue in sheer astonishment!After a few days, the snow melted. Gasping and panting, the people of the village rushed up the mountain to meet the Yogi Baba. They were very afraid that the Yogi Baba might have died of hunger!But Keshav Baba was sitting there, completely cheerful. He hugged the villagers and said, "A magical deer saved me, you know! Being hungry, I cooked and ate a little bit of its meat, and the rest of the meat is still in the pot."Curious, the villagers peeked inside the pot. But where was the meat? Instead, there was a small piece of wood covered in bright gold plating!"Oh, what is this?" saying this, everyone hurriedly entered inside the temple. In the temple, the Mother's beautiful, golden idol was smiling. But everyone stared with wide-open eyes—a mark of a small piece of wood being cut away (a wound) was visible on a small spot of that idol!When the villagers attached that golden piece of wood found in the pot to the wounded spot of the idol... zap...! It matched perfectly, and the wound on the idol healed up on its own, shining brightly!Oh! Now everyone understood everything. To save her beloved devotee Keshav, who was distressed by hunger, the Compassionate Mother herself had come in the form of a deer! The Mother had given a piece of her own body to save the yogi's life.With joy and devotion, the people of the village fell at the Mother's feet. Tears of happiness began to flow from Keshav's eyes. Clapping lovingly, he began to sing a hymn:"Mother, how merciful you are!To save my life, the Mother who became a deer herself!This magic of yours, how beautiful and how warm,Keep me always, small in your lap!"From that day onwards, Keshav engaged himself even more happily in serving the Mother and helping the villagers, and happiness prevailed forever at the 'Bridge of Heaven'.