Vagabond in ITVille - The Ultimate Profession
The Vagabond was now older than what he’d have liked. He was respected for his past achievements, which never were, and was one of the most sought after consultants at ITVille. Over a period of time, the Vagabond himself forgot the source of his greatness and started attributing his status as a respected master to his own non-existent capability.
The Vagabond now spent most of his time walking around ITVille at a leisurely pace (less than a quarter kilometer per hour). The same speed that made people to think of him as a lazy bum is now attributed to his wisdom and his ability to imbibe knowledge from everything around him. People, the young and ambitious, slowed themselves down so they could catch down with him and try to gain some of his wisdom on those perambulatory strolls. No one understood, just like all those years ago, what the Vagabond had to offer but, instead of attributing this to shallowness of thought they now considered it as a hallmark of true knowledge that made the Vagabond blurt out extremely simple expressions like “Look there! The dog is wagging its tail”. The ambitious walk-mate would look at the dog yonder and wonder what the inner meaning of that statement could be. If they ask, they knew all they would draw from the Vagabond would be a condescending smile. “Must be something that I need to figure out myself ” they’d think and try to reason out in all possible ways the significance of a street dog wagging its tail. Is it a divine message about karmic expression that is conveyed through that fairly simple looking canine, they’d wonder. Or could it be a more earthly message about enhancing your sensory organs when an opportunity presents itself in the form of a bone? They’d never know but are that much better because of it. “ It expands my thinking beyond the obvious and may be that is what the Vagabond wanted me to achieve ” they’d reason.
The relentless acceptance of his wisdom, the unquestioning denial of his incapability and the glorification of his influence on the future of the ITVille had a great impact on the Vagabond’s self perception. He now carried a confidence that bordered on invincibility and reeked of nonchalance. He started to believe in himself more than he believed in the situation that made him the hero. “Who knows if the gold necklace really fell from the thief’s loot? It is quite possible that the wooden necklace turned gold purely because of my innate capability”. The Vagabond was now, what everyone would like to believe and celebrate, a great success story.
It was in this background that the Vagabond now roamed the streets of ITVille. And as he did so one morning, he decided to park himself at the busy railway station of ITVille and observe the goings on there. He could always apply his insight to those situations and pass them as comments during his discussions with the eager youngsters who sought his wisdom. The meaning of his statements was of course left to the intelligence of his listeners.
The Vagabond watched the Idly-Vada vendors, mobile teashop operators, vegetable and fruit sellers, security guards in front of large establishments, newspaper sellers and buyers, busy tourists who recently got off a train, vendors of all kinds of interesting things (including combs, pliers, tooth brushes, paint brushes and everything else needed to survive) stacked on to a mobile four wheeler, police constables and a variety of beggars (Old & Young, Mobile & Stationary, Healthy & Handicapped etc.). “None of them are as successful or intelligent as I am” the Vagabond thought. “And none of those jobs are as complicated as mine”. As he pondered on those thoughts, a very thin strain of doubt entered the Vagabond’s mind. Was it really true that his job was more complicated than all the other jobs that were being executed in front of his eyes at that very moment, the strain of doubt questioned? Initially the Vagabond tried to stave it off with a confident reassurance of his greatness. But after some persistence from the strain, he decided to validate his confidence just so he could put the strain to rest once for all.
The Vagabond started examining each of the jobs in more detail and checked them out for their simplicity and doability. “I can sell fruits & vegetables or any other thing for that matter. With little effort I can figure out how to make Idlies and Vadas and sell them too” and so went his rationalization of jobs. As he did so, the Vagabond grew in confidence and decided that with very little training he can pretty much do any job in ITVille. “Any left over strains of doubt can take a walk”, he smiled to himself. His train of thought, however, stopped when it reached the signal of the begging profession. As he watched the beggars tirelessly act sycophant and seek alms from all and sundry he started to doubt himself. Can he be so patient as to be treated at will by any one, including the professionals whose jobs he just rationalized, he wondered? The beggars seemed immune to insult and all they focused on was the coin, no matter its denomination, that could potentially come out of the pocket of any passerby. The Vagabond wondered at their single minded focus on the coin to the extent that they refuse to react to any physical or oral response from their customers that did not include the tossing of a coin into their seemingly bottom-less bowl. And when the response did include a coin they always blessed the customer with the same expression and enthusiasm. It was a task that then involved only two activities. Seek & Bless. Everything else was ignored.
The Vagabond continued to ponder on his ability to Seek & Bless. There was nothing to learn if he had to execute that job and that seemed complicated. How could he, one of the smartest in ITVille, bear the insults of all and sundry? How could he find a simple corner of shade on the street and work from there with nothing to offer but an innocuous blessing? How could he remove his ego to the extent that it does not figure in his work life at all? Was it not his ego that, all those years ago, made him sit under the massive tree and ponder about his life in ITVille? If not for that, he wouldn’t know where he’d have ended up in his life.
The Vagabond decided that there is at least one profession in ITVille that he could not take up. “If I can do hundred different professions but cannot do one, does it make the one profession most complicated or the hundred professions most simple?” he wondered. “For my capability the hundred professions are, of course, simple” the Vagabond decided. That would make the one profession the most complicated, he thought.
The Vagabond was on his way home with the realization that he was one of the few in ITVille who figured out the Ultimate Profession. “Wisdom”, he thought, “is priceless”. And, may be, coinless too.
The Vagabond now spent most of his time walking around ITVille at a leisurely pace (less than a quarter kilometer per hour). The same speed that made people to think of him as a lazy bum is now attributed to his wisdom and his ability to imbibe knowledge from everything around him. People, the young and ambitious, slowed themselves down so they could catch down with him and try to gain some of his wisdom on those perambulatory strolls. No one understood, just like all those years ago, what the Vagabond had to offer but, instead of attributing this to shallowness of thought they now considered it as a hallmark of true knowledge that made the Vagabond blurt out extremely simple expressions like “Look there! The dog is wagging its tail”. The ambitious walk-mate would look at the dog yonder and wonder what the inner meaning of that statement could be. If they ask, they knew all they would draw from the Vagabond would be a condescending smile. “Must be something that I need to figure out myself ” they’d think and try to reason out in all possible ways the significance of a street dog wagging its tail. Is it a divine message about karmic expression that is conveyed through that fairly simple looking canine, they’d wonder. Or could it be a more earthly message about enhancing your sensory organs when an opportunity presents itself in the form of a bone? They’d never know but are that much better because of it. “ It expands my thinking beyond the obvious and may be that is what the Vagabond wanted me to achieve ” they’d reason.
The relentless acceptance of his wisdom, the unquestioning denial of his incapability and the glorification of his influence on the future of the ITVille had a great impact on the Vagabond’s self perception. He now carried a confidence that bordered on invincibility and reeked of nonchalance. He started to believe in himself more than he believed in the situation that made him the hero. “Who knows if the gold necklace really fell from the thief’s loot? It is quite possible that the wooden necklace turned gold purely because of my innate capability”. The Vagabond was now, what everyone would like to believe and celebrate, a great success story.
It was in this background that the Vagabond now roamed the streets of ITVille. And as he did so one morning, he decided to park himself at the busy railway station of ITVille and observe the goings on there. He could always apply his insight to those situations and pass them as comments during his discussions with the eager youngsters who sought his wisdom. The meaning of his statements was of course left to the intelligence of his listeners.
The Vagabond watched the Idly-Vada vendors, mobile teashop operators, vegetable and fruit sellers, security guards in front of large establishments, newspaper sellers and buyers, busy tourists who recently got off a train, vendors of all kinds of interesting things (including combs, pliers, tooth brushes, paint brushes and everything else needed to survive) stacked on to a mobile four wheeler, police constables and a variety of beggars (Old & Young, Mobile & Stationary, Healthy & Handicapped etc.). “None of them are as successful or intelligent as I am” the Vagabond thought. “And none of those jobs are as complicated as mine”. As he pondered on those thoughts, a very thin strain of doubt entered the Vagabond’s mind. Was it really true that his job was more complicated than all the other jobs that were being executed in front of his eyes at that very moment, the strain of doubt questioned? Initially the Vagabond tried to stave it off with a confident reassurance of his greatness. But after some persistence from the strain, he decided to validate his confidence just so he could put the strain to rest once for all.
The Vagabond started examining each of the jobs in more detail and checked them out for their simplicity and doability. “I can sell fruits & vegetables or any other thing for that matter. With little effort I can figure out how to make Idlies and Vadas and sell them too” and so went his rationalization of jobs. As he did so, the Vagabond grew in confidence and decided that with very little training he can pretty much do any job in ITVille. “Any left over strains of doubt can take a walk”, he smiled to himself. His train of thought, however, stopped when it reached the signal of the begging profession. As he watched the beggars tirelessly act sycophant and seek alms from all and sundry he started to doubt himself. Can he be so patient as to be treated at will by any one, including the professionals whose jobs he just rationalized, he wondered? The beggars seemed immune to insult and all they focused on was the coin, no matter its denomination, that could potentially come out of the pocket of any passerby. The Vagabond wondered at their single minded focus on the coin to the extent that they refuse to react to any physical or oral response from their customers that did not include the tossing of a coin into their seemingly bottom-less bowl. And when the response did include a coin they always blessed the customer with the same expression and enthusiasm. It was a task that then involved only two activities. Seek & Bless. Everything else was ignored.
The Vagabond continued to ponder on his ability to Seek & Bless. There was nothing to learn if he had to execute that job and that seemed complicated. How could he, one of the smartest in ITVille, bear the insults of all and sundry? How could he find a simple corner of shade on the street and work from there with nothing to offer but an innocuous blessing? How could he remove his ego to the extent that it does not figure in his work life at all? Was it not his ego that, all those years ago, made him sit under the massive tree and ponder about his life in ITVille? If not for that, he wouldn’t know where he’d have ended up in his life.
The Vagabond decided that there is at least one profession in ITVille that he could not take up. “If I can do hundred different professions but cannot do one, does it make the one profession most complicated or the hundred professions most simple?” he wondered. “For my capability the hundred professions are, of course, simple” the Vagabond decided. That would make the one profession the most complicated, he thought.
The Vagabond was on his way home with the realization that he was one of the few in ITVille who figured out the Ultimate Profession. “Wisdom”, he thought, “is priceless”. And, may be, coinless too.
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