"Woe is Me."

Waiapu Church Gazette, Volume XVI, Issue 4, 1 October 1925, Page 3

"Woe is Me."

The Rev. George Tyrell, m. Ms book, Scylla and Charybdis, gives the following Hindu legend as a parable illustrating the difficulty of the relationship between religion and culture. The Creator (Twashtri) seeing the loneliness of man, endeavored, to satisfy him by making a new creature as a help meet for him. To do this He took a million contradictory, elements of the universe and compounded them together into a woman whom He presented to Adam. In eight days Adam came back and said, "My Lord, the creature you gave me poisons my existence. She chatters without rest, she takes all my time, she laments for nothing at all ;and is always ill"; so Twashtri received the woman back again. * But eight days afterwards Adam came again to the god and said, "My Lord, my life is very solitary since I returned this creature,'; so Twashtri gave him the woman back again. Only three days had passed before Twashtri perceived Adam returning once more." "My Lord, I dp not understand .exactly how, but I am sure the woman causes me more annoyance than pleasured I beg of you to relieve me of her." But Twashtri cried : "Goyoiir way and do your best." \ . And the man cried: "I cannot, live wrfcn her!" ■'. "Neither can you live Without Her," replied Twashtri.

And! the man' was ssdrrbwfiil and went away murmuring: "Woe is me! I can neither live with iher nor withr out her." . : ■ .