An Anecdote: The Enlightened Thief

    The Enlightened Thief

Prof. Maheran Chakraborty was in his ripe old age of 80. He was an erudite scholar of his time and holds mastery in the understanding of Vedanta and the Gita.

His children were well settled and engaged in their chosen profession. But they didn’t have time to often visit their parents.

An interesting story floats about the Professor in his friend circle.

His father-in-law was a rich man and his only daughter Tuntun Choudhary was married to the professor. And the professor was not into a profession where someone could amass monetary wealth. With all these at the back of his mind he was extremely fond of his father-in-law. And the fondness was expressed in its extremity when the old man was on his death bed and the professor told him that he would like to keep the memories of his father-in-law alive even after his death. He uttered a tearful oath that he would append his father-in-law’s surname to his name. He would therefore be named Prof. Maheran Chakraborty Choudhary. This skyrocketed his prospect of inheriting the dying man’s property. And he did finally inherit the properties that overlooks the beautiful hills of Shillong.

He was known among his scholarly friends by the name Einstein because of his mastery on all major subjects. 

On a dull and rainy day while he was solving a crossword, he was stuck up and inadvertently wrote his full name Maheran Chakraborty Choudhary on a scribbling paper. He heard someone asking his wife in humor ‘Is Einstein Babu at home?”.

It was the Eureka moment for the professor. Hearing someone call him Einstein while solving the crossword, looking at the first letters of his full name Maheran Chakraborty Choudhary that he had scribbled on the paper, the title of the half-read book ‘E=mc² by David Bodanis’ left by his son on the bedside and his first name Maheran meaning intelligent. All these combinations worked exceedingly well to further uplift his confidence about himself.

It was the Nirvana moment for him as he could so well visualize how the most famous equation E = mc²  translated to:

               E = m*c*c

      =>  (E)instein = (M)aheran (C)hakraborty (C)houdhary.

This was something too much his ego could bear. He bumped off to the ground. Luckily the wooden floor that is so common in the houses of Shillong saved his shining and bald head.

This was his story of over confidence; but these are also the only stories that kept his friends joyful even after they had turned old.

Now he was in his old age and crippled. The Professor after a desperate search employed an attendant named Nosto through an agency. In a short span of time Nosto became their blue-eyed boy. He was extremely devoted to his job and was very lovable.

The Professor’s children stopped receiving frequent calls from their parents. Nosto heard Mrs. Tuntun speak this over the phone to one of her children. “Your old parents will no longer disturb you. We have found a new son and his name is Nosto. He cares for us like his own parents. You all be happy. We three will now enjoy our life together”.

Deep within, they very much missed their children and their grand-children and still trying to cope up with the fact that they may never be able to meet them again as they were in the final phase of their life. This being the reason they showered so much love on their new attendant Nosto.

These are the days when their friends returned from the Professor’s house with loads of story about Nosto.  All their close friends and neighbors were glad to know that the couple finally found someone who would support them in their old age.

The Professor out of love even told Nosto that he would share him all his knowledge so that he may be able to employ himself to better jobs.

Some of the mornings the Professor and his wife would wake up, looking at each other while smiling but not uttering a single word. Both understood each other and what they meant. One knew that the other must have seen Nosto in their dreams and how all the three spent their day together in nice talks. He made their house and life so much better and livable.

Mrs. Tuntun would ask Nosto what all he wants to eat; she would prepare all that for him. He shared what all his mother used to prepare for him when he was at his village. The couple did all they could so that he does not miss his home and stay with them as long as it would be possible.

The Professor was an erudite scholar in Vedanta and Gita and planned to start the lesson for Nosto from the next day.

The next morning as he woke up, the boy was missing and so was the chain of gold.

This was reported to the agency and the old couple requested if they could meet Nosto only once if he is hunted down.

Nosto was tracked and was brought to the old couple’s house. Seeing him, the Professor asked Nosto what made him break their trust when they loved him and cared for him so much.

Nosto in a painful tone narrated his side of the story.

My father fell sick and is now on his death-bed. I had to quit school to earn some money for his medication. I know he will not live long since we are so poor that if I buy food for my family I wouldn’t have any money left for his medication and vice-versa.

I know you loved me as much as your son. But I had to remain unattached to your love so that I can stick to my main goal; that is to save my dying father.

Also I saw that you are too weak; mentally, physically and always had the fear that I may leave you both. You knew very well how difficult it is to find a good and a young attendant like me.

The Professor being an erudite scholar in Gita and had also thoroughly read the works of Swami Vivekananda.

He recalled in his mind Chapter 3, Verse 9 of the Gita where it says:

“Arjuna, In this world all actions become causes of bondage, unless they are performed as an offering to God. Therefore, work for the sake of God, without personal attachments”.

Next came to his mind the quote by Swami Vivekananda in his Complete Works/Volume 1/THE GITA III.

“Think of the weakness! Ghosts, devils, gods, anybody — come on! And all the priests, all the charlatans! That is just the time they get hold of us, the moment we are weak. Then they bring in all the gods.”

The Professor asked Nosto if he read Gita or any of the books by Swami Vivekananda.

Nosto replies “Gita, who is she?”.

“And Vivekananda, never heard this long name?”.

The Professor confessed to Nosto. “You have practiced what I have preached all these years. I very well knew the content and the author of the book, but you knew its essence even without ever hearing about these books”.

Nosto heard it all without understanding most of what the Professor had said as he was too young for that level of thinking”.

This time the couple begged Nosto to return to his work. They would forgive him of all his misdoings.

Nosto was made to agree and they started to live a happy life with him once again. All his wrongdoings were completely forgotten.

They enjoyed each other’s company, until a few months later, the couple woke up one morning only to find Nosto missing again and later it was found that many of their valuables had also gone missing.

The Professor in deep agony goes to pick his spectacle lying on the table and finds an illegibly handwritten piece of paper under it.

This was written on it with multiple mis-spellings, but he did manage to convey the core message to the Professor:

He writes:

“You loved me so much and so much cared for me. You even forgave me of all my wrong-doings.

I was getting carried away by this. So every morning I prayed my God to help me overcome the attachment and temptation of your love and the care. Your love had sometimes pushed me to a point where I stopped thinking of my bed-ridden father. I was getting diverted from my main goal.

Also, daily I encountered the weakness in you. You had the fear that I may leave you both. You knew very well that it is not easy to find a good and a young attendant. I was actually getting comfortable in your house because of my poor upbringing. I would have probably not repeated the crime. So I had to give up my attachment towards both of you. But once again you fell victim to your attachment and weakness, something I had already told you about when I had returned last time”

Disclaimer: Stealing is condemnable and a wrong act. But this story tells us that when a thief whom we look down on can stick to his bad action, why should we not stick to our good action; whatever the circumstances may be.

Note: “This is based on a real incident but has been largely reproduced to give some color to its moral aesthetic.”