This is the fourth and last part of 'Seven Deadly Sins'.

First three parts can be read here:
First part: A bag of bricks and a bottle of wine

Second Part: Meeting an Under-grad

Third Part: Job-Fair


Story so far: GVR, a grad student dies and meets an immortal. The immortal gives him a bag of bricks, a bottle of wine and a dictionary. The bag contains bricks. There can be at most seven types of bricks representing each deadly sin. GVR has to repent these sins to get rid of bricks before finishing wine. GVR meets an under-grad and some guys from industry, and successfully repents two sins. He is currently moving alone on the endless road. He checks the bag and finds out that........

Final Conversation with The Immortal

'Sloth...
Sloth...
Sloth...
...
What the F*ck! I got a bag full of sloth', GVR checks his bag and finds out that there are many Sloth bricks. He has already repented Envy & Greed.

'But why Sloth? I can't believe this. There must be some mistake?', GVR was not lazy in his earthly life. How can one call a graduate student lazy?

'I must talk to the immortal. It must be a mistake.', he concludes and wonders what could possibly induce an error in the supernatural setting. 'Are they keeping these records offshore?'. He couldn't find anything reasonable except Outsourcing to blame.

'Let's talk to Him'

'Hello!... Hello!... I am talking to you...' He shouts in all directions and hopes to get a response from the immortal.

'Son! you look puzzled', the immortal appears from nowhere.

'Oh! that was quick! .... Yes I have a doubt?', GVR asks.

'I think there is some mistake. My bag is full of Sloth. I was not lazy. I am sure there is some mistake. Can you please cross check?', GVR avoids questioning efficiency of the underlying system.

'There can be no mistake. But I can surely cross check for you.'

'No mistake! Sloth is the last sin for you. But I am afraid to tell you that your sloth has accumulated to a level of Lethargiosis.', the immortal brings both a good and a bad news.

'Wow!!Just one sin left! Cool... I did it', GVR celebrates his victory and reaches for his wine to treat himself. A sip revitalizes his soul.

'And what happened to Lust and Gluttony? I am sure I committed them during my life', GVR can be frank to an immortal.

'They are not counted as sins anymore!'

'What? Why? Since when? This world is so different than we always imagined on the earth', GVR expresses his astonishment.

'Since majority of humans are committing these sins, they now come under human nature and are not treated as crimes.'

'That's cool! I wish I could know this earlier.'

'But didn't you mention Seven deadly sins in our first meeting?', To question is a right of a grad.

'Polluting mother nature and dealing with drugs are new in the list.', the immortal again clarifies GVR's doubt.

'Hmmm it makes sense...But wait! why sloth... and you said something very negative, didn't you? I think I lost you somewhere', GVR finally senses the bad news.

'I said your life was severely affected by sloth. You may take some time reflecting on it completely. Save your wine.', the immortal reiterates the bad news.

'wait wait wait... I am sorry, I can't take it. you are trying to call a graduate student a lazy @$$... how can you? I am offended....', GVR recalls the main reason of summoning the immortal.

'Let me tell you my normal weekly schedule... I used to attend around ten hours of lectures, four hours of lab-works. I generally spent around twenty to thirty hours on home works, and almost similar time on my research.... Look at my body', but GVR realizes the fact that he has died, ' ohhh ok, I meant I used to work-out daily... I don't remember a single week when I spent less than five hours in gym....'

'What on God Damn earth made you feel, that I was lazy... My goodness!! Who can question activity of a graduate student? We belong to one of the most industrious species of the universe... we are hard working... I am sorry, but you offended not only me, but my whole community.. how can you do that?' GVR can never stand His accusations.

'I was expecting this. Sloth is always misunderstood by physical inactivity. It is far more severe than you can imagine.'

'Oh My God! here comes the preaching! you know what.. I was about to appreciate the whole set-up. You told me wonderful theories that I could never imagine. I met wonderful people here, and realized how wrong I was in my life. And now you are serving me new fundas..', GVR protests once again.

'I don't question your over-scheduled life. But tell me what was the sole purpose of keeping yourself busy?', the immortal asks keeping himself calm.

GVR thinks of a convincing reason. If it were some other mortal, he would have sweet coated his argument with ponderous reasons he mentioned in his SOP*. The curiosity and inclination towards science could have saved him. But these reasons are pointless in front of an immortal. The immortal could easily sense the underlying truth.

'Let me tell you, the whole purpose was to keep yourself so busy, so entrenched in your active life, that your spirit reached a permanent state of lethargiosis', the immortal is still calm. On the other hand, GVR is still thinking of a good damn reason.

'Lethargiosis is a process of eliminating energy & drive. It's not a state of tranquility. It's a state of pointlessness.', the immortal adds.

'I understand that I haven't done anything for mother nature or the society... but look!! do you want everyone to be a revolutionary?... there is no point!', GVR's tone yields to a defensive pitch. He remembers the days of his life when he pointlessly conducted same experiments again and again to kill time and get rid of frustration. He recalls walking on road thinking about his aimless life.

'This is not only about nature, society and family, my son! This is about you. This is about making up your mind and taking some genuine steps in your life.', comes the next strike from the immortal.

'I think I am not completely getting you. But tell me first! Does everyone think too much in life? Ok, lets not talk about politically obsessed souls, but what about others? I followed others and I am curious if everyone else made reasonable choices in life.'

'I am afraid to tell you the truth. Sloth is the biggest threat to humanity and over scheduled people are new sloths. They are neither angry nor hopeful. They are so engrossed in their petty life that their souls are dying.', the immortal conveys another sad news without an inkling of sympathy.

'But you can count on our curiosity towards science, can't you?', GVR picks up a heavy word from his SOP. 'Well what are my options?', GVR asks a straightforward question without dwelling on some boring discussion.

'Since this is the last sin in your account. You can repent it and explore the next stage. Counting on your curiosity, I hope you won't disappoint us. We need more souls like you. You must have learnt from history that we have yet to create a truly peaceful, loving world.'

GVR thinks for sometime. He just needs to say sorry for sloth, and he will be in a completely different world.

'Well I have a better option. I think I will wait for the time Sloth is removed from the list of sins. And considering the increasing number of people embracing it, this time will arrive soon. Why should I trouble myself for the sake of humanity. I feel, I love my pointless graduate life.', GVR emphasizes every word and makes a calculated decision. He, then, reaches for his wine and gulps it in one shoot.

Boom... and he disappears. What else can you expect from a grad? The immortal doesn't look surprised and says his little prayer, 'You haven't changed a bit. It was not your first trip here. Last time we got you soon after your GRE, before you were going back to school. We gave you a good undergraduate degree, a lucrative job and a meaningful life, but you followed the crowd and wanted to join a Grad. School. You gave similar reasons the last time. This time we picked you just before your QE**. You were recently planning to convert your Masters program to a PhD program. I am sure you will then opt for a Post-Doctorate and finally realize that you are over educated for anything worthy. May you live in pace.'

And on the earth, after around two and half decades, a Masters student is unable to decide anything for his future and sticks to studies. He is going to write QE tomorrow.

<-The End ->

PS:
1.I duly respect the entire graduate community. But unfortunately many students are taking this path just because they don't decide upon anything else. What a pity!
2.Reference: 'Sloth', Wendy Wasserstein, Oxford University Press. (The word 'Lethargiosis' was picked from this book. The last chapter of the book proposes over-scheduled sloths. Many key ideas were picked from there.)
3.The New York Public Library & Oxford University Press asked seven noted writers, scholars, and critics to offer their own views on one of the seven deadly sins. Seven books were published in this series. These books give more general definition of these sins, digging up their history and commenting on human behavior.
4.I have received many comments saying that this plot looks religious. I must clarify that although I am a religious person, this story has nothing to do with my religious beliefs. I tried to correlate human defects and graduate life. A good sense of humor is only prerequisite to appreciate the material. I hope you enjoyed reading it :) Stay tuned!!!



* SOP stands for Statement of Purpose. It's kind of a short essay that every graduate student write mentioning his or her research and career objective. It is a basic requirement for admission into any graduate school.

** QE stands for Qualifying Examination: Anyone can get a Masters degree without writing a QE, but one needs to clear this test before securing entry in a PhD Program.