Perfect Escape - Devamrita Swami

This book tells the simple story (directly transcribed from the original Vedic texts) of a wandering aesthetic who comes in contact with a person of the royal order. On his way to some important destination the king, not aware of the enlightened status of the sage, mistakenly inscripts him in the service of carrying him on a raised dias. The sage was very careful to respect the life of the many ants scurrying along the path so, in trying to avoid stepping on them, the king was jostled about while atop his palenquin. After tolerating a few chastisements the sage humbly presents to the king “Why is the travelling of the ants upon this road any less important than your travelling here?”

Upon hearing such unassumed wisdom from the mouth of his carrier, the king quickly realizes his mistake. Falling on the ground in front of the sage with his nose pressed to the earth at his feet the king requests the sage to forgive his misjudgement. The sage responds by imparting a dissertation of very clear and precise spiritual knowledge that has just as much relevance today as it did then.