| Username |
Post |
| Gokul |
Posted
on 26-Jul-02 07:22 PM
The Interview
He was no ordinary kid. When children of his age were pestering their parents for candy and toys, he knew his parents were too poor to afford these for him. So he never asked for any. It was not that he never felt the craving for them. After all, he was just a child and he definitely had childlike desires and aspirations. What was remarkable was that he developed a very keen sense of observation, sometimes so detached and objective that his parents often suspected whether their poverty was taking too heavy a toll and was robbing their son of his innocence and beauty of childhood. However, their unconditional love - the love that manifested itself not by giving mere toys and candies, but radiated in every breath they took and in every dream they beheld in their eyes, was providing him a fortress where he could hide himself from the cruelties and injustices of the world. As time went on, he knew he could use this fortress not only to hide but in fact to spend his whole life there if he wanted.
With this realization, he became more and more introvert and the number of his friends already so small, began to drop further. His eyes reflected a deep poignancy although nobody knew for certain whether it was the usual sadness that had become so synonymous with his existence or some other quirks of life which he had many.
Suffice it to say that he spent his whole childhood in complete isolation without any close friends. It was not that he saw the meaninglessness of life and was inclined to experience that bitterness alone. On the contrary, he was driven by a goal, the goal to bring happiness in his family by earning money so that no child would again be robbed of his or her simple needs. Although he looked back at this motivating factor and realized how material and ordinary it was, he wondered how could he be so engrossed in his pursuit at times? What he still did not know was that although his lonely journey began with the material pursuit and immediate fulfillment, he underwent a complete metamorphosis and his goal ultimately became sublime and subtle. Although he still retained his detached outlooks, his raw objectivity gradually gave way to very fine compassionate subjectivity. For example, in occasional periods of intense philosophical broodings, he stopped worrying whether there was any meaning in life or not. Instead, he became more interested in how he could give meaning to his life. Although still lonely and recluse, he could more spontaneously feel the miseries of people in his surroundings than ever before.
It is true that his heart was very tender but what was more remarkable was his conviction that the secret of the universe was locked in heart and not in brain. Sometimes people often mixed his wordings with Jesus, Krishna and Buddha for they were so identical. It was not that he was a religious scholar and had read Bible, Geeta and Tripitak in his formative years. In fact, he had seen none of these books let alone read them. Perhaps that was the reason for the sheer force of his conviction because he was not merely quoting, he was living those very words every moment. I am afraid I may have given readers the impression that his ascension to spirituality was unhindered and spontaneous. This is far from truth because he experienced every stumbling that come in the road of everyday life. In fact this story is about such an incident of his life when he started looking for a job after his graduation.
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| Gokul |
Posted
on 26-Jul-02 07:23 PM
His isolation, talent and perseverance made him a very successful student. While his classmates were busy preparing for the exam, he used to go for a long walk alongside the river near his home. Little worried about the impending exams (for he had already read enough), he could enjoy the sound of the river, sometimes reciting Tennyson's "The Brook', sometimes just whistling the tune of the current song. Needless to say, he scored one of the highest marks in his not-so-known college. He was riding the ghost of rationality and he became a graduate in science in no time. Now was the time to fulfill his childhood dream, the dream of making enough money. He started looking for a job and this was when he realized what it meant not to have any powerful friends and relatives. Most of the time, he was not called for the interview even though his name always appeared first in the list of written exam result. Sometimes he did get chance for interviews but he always blew them either with his shoddy appearance or with his answers which were considered too irrational for a position of a science teacher. Sometimes he was penalized for not having enough experience in this field. And this he found, one of the most philosophically profound challenges of his life. He was bound to solve this philosophically for he did not know it was just an excuse on part of the employers not to give him any job. I am thankful for his naivete for it gave me the chance to witness one of the most exquisite moment in my life.
After he passed the written exam, he was called for the interview. There was not much competition for this position because the school was located in a remote area where no ambitious candidate would like to go. What prospect could there be for a science teacher in the mountain of orchard and rhododendrons! Nevertheless, he was anxious to get the job and he came in time although he did not seem to be wearing a wrist watch. After throwing a cursory glance on his resume, the interviewer looked straight in his face as if he had done some unpardonable sin. From earlier encounters, he knew what the interviewer was going to say next "You don't have any experience at all." Previously, he used to say he was a fresh graduate and if offered this job, then it would be his first job. So it would be irrational to expect any experience from him. Sometimes he would try to draw the parallel between this and the chicken and egg problem in the hope of convincing his interviewer. At one place, he even quoted Lao Tzu saying the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Perhaps that was his first interview because he sounded so enthusiastic when he said it. Gradually, "You don't have any experience" deafened his ears and he stopped justifying why he didn't have the experience. And today he was also facing this same problem.
He looked wistfully outside the window and it seemed certain to me that he was not even recognizing the presence of the interviewer who was staring at him. He seemed lost, completely lost until his glance landed upon the apple trees. He remembered how he used to climb apple trees, sometimes to pick apples to satiate hunger and sometimes just with the desire to see the ground from a little above. But this was not a time to indulge in nostalgia. He was being interviewed. He looked at the interviewer who was waiting for an answer from him. Not having one, he looked again at those apple trees. This time two apple trees caught his attention. One was young and did not bear any fruit but he guessed next year it would be full of apples just like the other one. "Why do not people chop any trees which don’t have any fruits?" He wondered and that was a moment of revelation for him. He cared very little whether he would get the job or not for he had found the truth higher than that. This time, it was him who looked straight to the interviewer, not with arrogance and haughtiness but with the Budhhalike serenity and said, "I am like the younger tree with no fruits at the present. While the experienced and mature tree will have been dead, the younger one will keep giving its fruits. The seed has more potential than the tree."
I am sure he did not hear the interviewer's "When are you joining the school?" for he was already lost in the reverie of his new found truth.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 26-Jul-02 09:36 PM
Gokulji,
The answer to the interviewer is very convincing. A good suggestion to the people
seeking interview, and yet suffering from that 'you don't have experience' reply!!
Your poetic expertise permeates the narration, I felt like I was reading a poem.
This weekend has been very good one. A lot of good articles in Sajha.
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| Gokul |
Posted
on 27-Jul-02 07:30 AM
Biswo,
Thanks.
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| Dilasha |
Posted
on 27-Jul-02 10:01 AM
A very good read gokul ji. Thought provoking indeed. Thanks!
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| LA |
Posted
on 27-Jul-02 11:31 AM
Gokulji,
That was very good..and more than that some truth in the field.
Hope to read more....
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