By C.N. Vaze
Chartered Accountant
Every human
being is ever anxious to know about his future. Chartered Accountants are still
considered as ‘human beings’, although they work like donkeys.
Man is all the
more worried about the future, especially when he has to make some crucial
decisions. Covid-19 has put the future of everyone in the dark.
In a small
town, a Sadhu Maharaj arrived one fine day. He stayed in a temple at a
little distance from the town. But soon the news spread that he has great
spiritual powers. People started flocking to the place where he had put up his
tent. It soon became very crowded as people from nearby places also started
coming in.
There was a
lot of talk among the people…
‘How does the sadhubaba look like? What does he wear?’
‘Does he talk
to everyone? Is there privacy while you are talking to him?’
‘How much does
he charge?’
‘Which
language does he speak?’
‘Is there any
separate queue for “special darshan”?’
Some sceptics
said they never believed in such sadhus. They said that fortune-tellers are
bogus people; and astrology is humbug. However, secretly almost everyone wanted
to visit him and meet him. His presence had mesmerised the people.
Suddenly, the
news came in that the sadhubaba actually does not talk with anyone. You have to simply go and enter
your name in a register. You have to utter a short question in your mind. Then
you get a token. You then go to another room where many chits are kept. You
have to pick up the chit bearing your token number. On that chit there is a
short message. It will be a boon or a curse depending upon your past karma. ‘Boons’ will be in blue letters and
‘curses’ in red.
A group of
friends went to the sadhu. CA Chandrakant was one of them. Many of them uttered a question in
their minds about their children’s future.
They then
picked up their chits in great anxiety and eagerness.
On reading
their respective chits, the faces of many glowed with happiness. Most of them
had got a ‘boon’.
Somebody’s son
would become a minister; someone else’s daughter would get married to a
millionaire. Some people’s children would get a US visa smoothly and quickly
although Mr. Trump was still there. A few were delighted to know that their
wives would leave them alone for a long time! Likewise, many of them got some
good message or other and they felt that the sadhu was like an angel.
But
Chandrakant’s face turned pale. His mood changed quickly. His friends asked,
‘What’s there in your chit?’
‘It says my
son will join the CA course.’
The friends
said, ‘Very good! Then why are you so sad? You should be happy! It’s a boon.’
‘No,’ said
Chandrakant, ‘the letters are in red.’
Grief must be shared to be
endured
—
Kalidasa, AbhiGyaanShakuntalam
