Dating : The Drowning Seeker

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The Seeker wished to meet the wisest man in the world. He traveled far and wide. He attended lectures by a thousand self-professed philosophers. He was very impressed with them. He could not decide who was the wisest. They all spoke wonderfully. They spoke on the meaning of life, on life after death, on how by donating to them, the Seeker would book a seat in Heaven.

There was one exception. The Seeker came across a Saint. When he asked the Saint, the Saint smiled enigmatically, and spoke, ‘Go spend time with children. They will reveal the highest wisdom.’

What a strange Saint! As though children could give him wisdom!

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The Seeker was walking absentmindedly on the banks of a river, pondering on all the wisdom he had received. It’s perhaps not very wise to walk while looking at the sky, but none of these philosophers had told him to look at the ground while walking. He stumbled over a stone and fell into the river.

The Seeker was so obsessed with the quest for wisdom that he had forgotten to learn swimming. He struggled to stay afloat and started screaming for help. A large crowd collected. .

A government official came forward. He said, ‘Sir, do you have a valid ID card? If not apply for one. It’s mandatory.’

The drowning man screamed, ‘I need a life-boat, not an ID card.’ The government official shook his fist angrily, and walked away.

Then a group of people came with cameras. They told the drowning man, ‘We will organize a live chat on social media.’

The drowning man coughed out water, and gasped, ‘I need a life-boat, not social media!’ The group shook their heads and walked away, cracking jokes on the drowning Seeker.

Then a philosopher came and said, ‘Your ego is dragging you down. Drop your ego.’

The drowning man gasped and screamed, ‘To hell with my ego. And to hell with you. I need a life-boast. Gasp!’. The philosopher shook his head sadly and walked away.

A temple priest came forward. ‘Chant this mantra. Repeat after me.’

Before the priest could begin, the Seeker coughed out water, and screamed.’ I need a life-boat, not your mantras!’ The priest muttered to himself and stormed away.

And then a Mullah came, followed by a Church priest, and both speak at the same time, ‘Repent your sins.’ Then they started arguing with each other as to the best way to repent, and forgot about the drowning Seeker.

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The man was now at the end of his strength. The end was approaching. ‘I am drowning. No one is helping. God, if You do exist, do something.’

A little girl came forward. She was about five or six. ‘What are you doing there? Are you catching fish?’

‘I am drowning.’

The girl clapped her hands. ‘Sounds like fun.’

The Seeker groaned.

‘Before you drown, I need a small favor from you. Can you get me that white flower on the branch above you?’

The Seeker looked up. There was a branch over his head, with a beautiful flower. The Seeker cursed himself for his supreme stupidity. He reached up, caught hold of the branch, and pulled himself to safety. He brought the flower to the girl.

With tears in his eyes, the Seeker did a full-length prostration before the girl. He had found the wisest person in the world!

Copyright Bhavesh Parekh