The Collector's Guru

‘Go Forward’ a tramp had said and enigmatically smiled as he showed the way out of a forest, once, in Thiruvannamalai hills. The Collector had found his way out but was intrigued by that smile. He could never get that smile out of his mind.

He had come first in the toughest of the country’s administrative exams and soon found himself the Collector of one of the biggest districts of the country. He soon had to come to the big institution in the district, Shantalaya. This institution was run by volunteers who did its various tasks with all their hearts and commitment. Its Chairman was an efficient, suave gentleman. The Collector soon became friendly with the Chairman and helped the institution in whatever way he could and took help from it wherever he had the need to. He especially loved the quiet of Shantalaya’s ambience though he sometimes found the Chairman’s attention irksome.

The Collector felt the need of a philosopher guide. He was in deep trouble dealing with entrenched lobbies which stood malevolently in his way. This Chairman was good, but no, he didn’t sound like he could be that guide. The smile of that seraphic beggar beckoned in his heart.

Then came a particularly bad day. The Collector found himself moving aimlessly within Shantalaya. He was happy the ubiquitous Chairman was away. Somebody took him to hitherto forbidden common dining hall and guided him to a chair. He slumped tiredly.

‘Take your food first. Your way out is the way in’ words rang out.

He looked up in surprise at the server.

The old smile broke out of the server’s beard.

Swami Sampurnananda, 28 October 2003, Genre 273, No. 19.