The poem "The Last Bargain" by Rabindranath Tagore is an allegory of a man's search for purpose and meaning in life. In this poem, when the unnamed man wanders about and calls, "Come and hire me," what he is really saying is: "Give me something important to do. Define my life's purpose."

Tagore then has the man encounter several options that many people take as their life's goals. First a king holding a sword (symbolic of the violence required to take and hold power) rides by in a chariot and offers the man employment in exchange for power. However, to the seeking man, "power counted for nought." In other words, it is worthless, and so the man continues on his journey.

Next, an old man with a bag of gold offers to hire the man for money. Certainly many people consider the accumulation of riches as their primary goal in life, but the seeker in Tagore's poem turns away unsatisfied.

A "fair maid" approaches the man "in the evening" and offers to hire him "with a smile." This is another common allurement of the world: sexual love and marriage. The man does not respond, though, and so the woman leaves.

Finally, the man finds a child "playing with shells" on the seashore. The child offers to hire the man "with nothing." The man finds the freedom of the child's play liberating, and he finds that this is the goal that he has been seeking. Tagore's message is that the innocence and freedom found in child's play is a spiritual goal that is far worthier than the worldly pursuits of power, wealth, or sex.