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present in this extraordinary man. It was peeping through him. If he had eyes to see he could have found in the fakir all that he had dreamed about and read about in the scriptures. Something was present there. But all that the pundit could ask was, "Do you know reading and writing?"
Well, if a pundit even meets God he is sure to ask, "Where is your certificate? What is your education?" A pundit has his own world, he lives in his own world of words and scriptures.
The fakir replied, "No, I do not know reading and writing. I am absolutely illiterate and rustic." If there was an iota of awareness in the pundit he would have seen the utter humility of the fakir. To accept one's own ignorance is the first step towards self-knowledge. If one accepts one's ignorance wholeheartedly then it can become the last step also. When you are acutely aware of not knowing anything then your ego is bound to disappear, its very foundation will give way. The building of the ego will fall down and you will slip into egolessness. That is the door from where one can be in contact with the divine.
The fakir said, "I don't know anything. I am absolutely illiterate."
On hearing this the pundit remarked, "Then one-fourth of your life is wasted."
The boat sailed a little farther. The pundit asked again, "But you must know arithmetic at least? It is necessary for maintaining accounts."
The fakir said, "I do not possess anything so there is no need to maintain any accounts. Whatever I earn during the day, I spend by the evening. I do not earn more than the need of my daily bread. By the night I am a fakir again. Then in the morning I start earning again. Existence has been providing for me enough until now so why should I worry about tomorrow? If somebody gives me money, it is all right. If somebody does not give me anything, even then it is all right. I have lived up to now and will be able to live in the future also. Neither the giver gives anything which lasts forever nor the one who does not give takes away something which may be a loss forever -- it is all just a play."
On hearing this the pundit said, "Well, half of your life is wasted."
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