Scholar: My dear boy, tell me, do you know anything about grammar? You know, rhetoric, composition, poetry, similes, synonyms, antonyms, hyperboles, prepositional phrases, metaphors, nouns, verbs, adjectives etc., etc...
Boatman: Oh no. My dear sir, all I know is how to take this boat across the river. This is all I have ever done my whole life.
Scholar: Goodness gracious! My dear boy, you have wasted 25% of your life.
As they continued on their journey across the river the scholar started thinking, then eventually asked the boy another question:
Scholar: Dear boy, you certainly must know something about mathematics? Surely, you couldn't possibly mean to say that you know absolutely nothing about arithmetic. Are you not even, in the least bit aware of the basic fundamental principles involved in higher mathematics, like, let's say for example, geometry, trigonometry or calculus, algebra even, or what to speak of percentages and square rooting? [The boy keeps shaking his head to indicate that he is not, while the scholar continues to quiz him.] Oh. come now, do you truly expect me to believe that you don't even know anything about basic arithmetic, exclusively consisting of simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division?
Boatman: No. Dear sir (The boy states as he starts to get a little visibly irritated), I told you, all I know is how to get this boat across the river. This is all I have ever done. This is all my father ever did. This is all his father, and his father, and his father's, father's father has ever done.
Scholar: Oh, dear lad, you have certainly wasted 50% of your life.
This scholar, who was literally amazed and astonished by the lack of education this boy, he had just encountered, apparently possessed, began to ponder the situation further, and then yet another question arose in his mind:
Scholar: Alright then, I understand that you have never had the opportunity to learn anything about grammar or mathematics, but what about science, the law of physics for example, or chemistry, biology, and what about Darwin's theory of evolution, or perhaps, somewhere along the road of life, have you, per-chance, come to know, let's say, at least a little something about the scientific field of nuclear physics or quantum mechanics? Haven't you ever, even learned anything taught in any of these subjects?
Boatman: Look sir, as I have been trying to explain to you over and over, all I know is this boat, this river and how to get people like your good self across this river. This is the family business. It always has been, and I suspect it always will be. This is what I consider to be my profession and I'm quite happy with it.
Scholar: Ah! (The scholar retorts in aghast) My dear child, you have obviously wasted 75% of your life.
All of a sudden, a big wave came along and tipped the boat over. The scholar then began to cry for help:
Scholar: Dear boy! Help me! Save me, I'm drowning!
Boatman: Oh my dear sir, don't you know how to swim?
Scholar: No! Save me! Please boy, hurry!
Boatman: Oh my dear scholar of almost every type of mundane knowledge there is, it would appear as though you have wasted 100% of your life.
***** The moral of the story: Any progress we make in Devotional Service to Lord Krishna (Bhakti-yoga), in this lifetime is permanent. A person who begins the process is guaranteed at least a human body in his/her next birth. Then the soul begins progress from the point of advancement in his/her previous life. When sufficient progress is made (after many lives of practice if neccesary), a person transcends material misery and also attains unlimited transcendental happiness. At the end of life such a fortunate soul is promoted to Krishna-loka or the Vaikuntha planets never to return to the material world. This opportunity is wide open to any human being whom, their faith awakened, accepts this path. On the other hand if a person performs no service to Krishna during his/her lifetime then everything is lost at the time of death.
