The Politician

Hey wats up..!


I was sitting wid my grandpa (nanaji) a few months back when he narrated me three stories filled with gyaanbaazi… The stories were interesting…. so I just thought of sharing them with you…though I have knit them in a common thread...! And here’s my take on it…

I found a protagonist for my stories in a Politician... quite an apt guy to learn from… you see at times people who do bundles of wrong things provide regular lessons for others through their own disgraces..! Yes, I cannot vouch if a nonchalant would really learn from them…. But I find them interestin enough..! :D

Strange as it seems but our ‘babus’ do have a lot of work… probably more bureaucratic n procedural than thoughtful n change oriented. Nevertheless I would go with the ‘assumption’ that our politician was a rather workaholic and true to his work…! He had loads of work.. one which would hardly ever end despite him working 24x7 and with all his sincerity. He was tired and thought of getting a helping hand… someone who could be as loyal and efficient as himself. He could not compromise on his search for the right guy as that would cost the state and lead to a mess of the situation which, in turn, would lead to more work for the politician…! Thus, apart from his work, he would spend hours finding the right subordinate for himself…! Until finally one day, he came across one.

Just the kinds he would want to hire…trustworthy, efficient, knowledgeable, and most importantly a workaholic and enthusiastic for his work. The subordinate, however, had a condition before he could work for the politician. He said he would kill the politician the day he did not get work from the latter. The politician was taken aback at this condition. Nonetheless he thought, with so much work that he had, a situation like in the condition would hardly ever arise... at least not until he assumed the responsibility …! So he accepted the condition and hired the guy.

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and months into a year now. The guy would work as hard as the politician had hoped for. Efficient to the core and loyal at the heart. He gave no chance of complaints nor ever did too many mistakes. The politician was happy until he realized one day that the work he had was diminishing and would possibly not remain to be delegated to the guy. He remembered the terms the guy had set as a pre-condition to joining... that he would kill the politician if he did not assign work to him. The politician was scared and could think of nothing to save himself. Finally the day came when he actually had nothing to delegate for the following few days. He ran for his life. He reached a sage who he knew would have some solution for this.

When the sage heard his problem, he said “As the guy is your subordinate and would do what you tell him to, it is you who should be able to control him. His pre-conditions should not affect your composure and peace. The next time you think you are running out of work to assign to him, ask him to write ‘Ram’ on the walls of your office. The day the walls get covered by the name, tell him to wash the walls and continue to write the name until he had work from you. Let him do this repeatedly every time you lacked work for him. This would keep him busy and you at ease.”

In reality, you can probably relate the politician to being yourself and the guy / subordinate to be your mind. The pre-conditions would be the same as your mind imposes on you. If you cannot keep it busy, it will keep you restless. An empty mind is the devils workshop. But the devil needs to be tamed. Perhaps that’s where you need to empower yourself to overcome your mind. Keep yourself busy with something lest you rust your brains and let it home a million miseries for yourself.

Lets move on with our politician though. Having settled the issues with his subordinate, he was indeed peaceful. By now, he had also completed his tenure in the role he had assumed. Having worked diligently all through, he decided to go on a trip to get closer to nature. He decided he would climb a mountain as he always wanted to. Being inexperienced in the same, he requested a monk to guide him his way up to the peak of the mountain. The monk agreed to help him and got along with him. They began their journey and reached a level where the mountain became steeper and more difficult to climb.

The 'politician' that our protagonist is, he decided he would walk straight with his nose parallel to the ground. He had a reputation in the society and held his nose up in dignity. In due course though, he found it extremely difficult to walk any further while the monk kept climbing in a glib fashion, quite unaffected by the slope or the terrain. The politician finally could not walk when he turned to the monk for help. The monk did nothing but say a few words “When you have to climb the mountain and reach its peak, it is necessary to you bend low and walk”.

What the monk hinted at is quite true even when you need to tread your way up in the organizational hierarchy. You need to be humble and modest and part ways with your pride. You need to respect your seniors and care for your juniors. You cannot be a conceited moron with your nose held high in the sky. Be polite and stop giving yourself too much air. Dharti pe reh…! :D You will realize it’s much easier to move ahead and gets you more companions than awry looks and wry smiles every time you pass by.

The politician took the point made by the monk and moved ahead. They reached the top as the politician always wanted to. He was successful and happy. He was at the peak of the mountain, a place where none of his lame companions would ever make it. He was delighted and looked at the monk quite thankfully. The monk gave him a smile back, moved a step towards him and said “You were quite obedient as yet. You’ve got what you want and I guess u should enjoy your stint at the peak. Why don’t you take a look down from here, close your eyes for minute and then think how it feels to be at the peak”. The politician did so and felt extremely proud he had reached there. It was refreshing and self satisfying. At that moment the monk said “If you were given a choice to be one the three – the peak of a mountain, the plateau down there or the pond as we saw at the ground level when we began, which one would you prefer to be?”

The politician looked at him and instantly replied “I would love to be the peak. It stands tall at a height where one needs to make a lot of efforts to reach. One needs to look up to it to even admire it or talk to him while the peak just looks down at every thing on earth. Why, what would be your choice, wouldn’t you choose to be the same?”

The monk said “No. I would prefer to be the pond. You see, when it rains, the peak only drools down the water onto the plateau. It cannot contain the water or enjoy it. It is tall and has no vegetation. It does not need the water. The peak is of no use to a lay man.

The plateau too, will hold water just as much as it can. It will get flooded in due course and throw the water down. It only helps itself and the little vegetation that it has. It is of no use to a lay man again. But the pond down there is where water stores itself. The pond will take what he gets from nature itself as well as what the peak and plateau could not hold. It collects the water and allows a lay man to use it. He helps more lives than the plateau or the peak. He is more accessible than the other two. The hubris of the peak or the defiant plateau are of little use to the society. I would rather be the pond”

Point well taken…! Knowledge for a person is something he needs to share. You would be of no use to the society if you simply sit on piles of information or having reached high with the use of it but unwilling to disseminating it rightfully. Self pride, with the stature you have received owing to your knowledge and capability, will be short lived if you cannot care for the society and look down to it from your height.

These attributes I just narrated were probably small things, but do make a good difference in moulding you in a better person. I guess I have disseminated enough gyaan… aaj ke liye itna ‘pravachan’ kaafi hai... I’d rather buzz off from here now then being killed by you for having killed your time with another hell of a torture…! :P

But hey keep commenting and keep reading…! :D