Chapter 18 — A Poor Brahmin Gets Wealth

Literal. Shri Guru moves to Panch Ganga Sangam (the confluence of five rivers — Shiva, Bhadra, Bhogavati, Kumbhi, Saraswati) and stays under an Audumbar tree for twelve years. He visits Amarpur for alms; a poor Brahmin invites him; Shri Guru, while leaving, cuts the root of the sem (bean) creeper at the Brahmin's door. The Brahmin's wife laments; the Brahmin, digging up the root, finds a vessel of coins. Shri Guru tells him: do not tell anyone, or the wealth will be destroyed.

Symbolic. Apparent damage is the form of grace. The cutting of the creeper looks like deprivation; it is in fact the unblocking of buried resources.

Structural. 12 years at Panch Ganga Sangam. Five rivers named.