Once there was a sweeper in a well known temple who was very devout and pure of heart. Each day he saw thousands of devotees coming to worship the Lord, laying all their troubles at his feet for him to solve.
The naive sweeper was overcome with worry that God may be getting tired of this daily routine, and the people's prayers may suffer for it. So one morning very innocently he asked the Lord whether he can take his place for a day so that the Lord can have some relief and rest.
The deity situated in the Temple replied, "I do not mind taking a break. I will endow you with this statue form just like mine, but you must do one thing. You must just stand here like me, smile at everyone, and just give benedictions. Do not interfere with anything and do not say anything. Remember you are the deity representing me, and just have faith that I have a master plan for everything." The sweeper agreed to this.
The next day the sweeper took the position of the deity and a rich man came and prayed to the Lord. He offered a nice donation and prayed that his business should be prosperous. While going, the rich man inadvertently left his wallet full of money right there. Now the sweeper in the form of deity could not call him and so he decided to control himself and keep quiet. Just then a poor man came and he put one coin in the bowl as it was all he could afford, and he prayed to the Lord that he should continue to be engaged in the Lord's service. He also said that his family was in dire need of some basic necessities but he left it to the good hands of the Lord to provide a solution when the time is right. When he opened his eyes, he saw the wallet left by the rich man. The poor man thanked the Lord for His kindness and took the wallet very innocently. The sweeper in the form of the Deity could not say anything and he had to just keep smiling.
At that point a sailor walked in. He prayed for a safe journey as he was going to embark on a long trip. Just then the rich man came with the police and said that somebody has stolen his wallet, and seeing the sailor there, he asked the police to arrest him thinking that he might have taken it.
Now the sweeper in the form of Deity wanted to say that the sailor is not the thief but he could not say so and he became greatly frustrated. The sailor looked at the Lord and asked why he, an innocent person, is being punished.
The rich man looked at the Lord and thanked Him for finding the thief. The sweeper in the deity form could no longer tolerate it, and he thought that even if the real Lord had been here, he would have definitely interfered, and hence he started speaking and said that the sailor is not the thief but it was the poor man who took away the
wallet. The rich man was very thankful as was the sailor.
In the night, the real Lord came and He asked the sweeper how the day was. The sweeper said, "I thought it would be easy, but now I know that Your days are not easy, but I did one good thing." Then he explained the whole episode to the Lord.
The Lord became very upset on hearing this whereas the sweeper thought the Lord would appreciate him for the good deed done. The Lord asked, "Why did you not just stick to the plan? You had no faith in Me. Do you think that I do not understand the hearts of all those who come here? All the donations which the rich man gave were comprised of stolen money and it is only a fraction of what he really has and he wants Me to reciprocate with sincerity and without limits. The single coin offered by the poor man was the last coin he had and he gave it to Me out of faith. The sailor might not have done anything wrong, but if he would have embarked on his journey then, the raging storm that occurred that night would have killed him. Had he been arrested for that short while, he would have been saved from this great calamity and soon enough, justice would have prevailed.
The wallet should go to the poor man because he will use it in My service. I was going to reduce the rich man's burden of bad karma also by doing this and save the sailor also. But you canceled everything because you thought you know My plan and you made your own plans."
God has plans and justice for everyone....we just have to have patience!!!!!
The naive sweeper was overcome with worry that God may be getting tired of this daily routine, and the people's prayers may suffer for it. So one morning very innocently he asked the Lord whether he can take his place for a day so that the Lord can have some relief and rest.
The deity situated in the Temple replied, "I do not mind taking a break. I will endow you with this statue form just like mine, but you must do one thing. You must just stand here like me, smile at everyone, and just give benedictions. Do not interfere with anything and do not say anything. Remember you are the deity representing me, and just have faith that I have a master plan for everything." The sweeper agreed to this.
The next day the sweeper took the position of the deity and a rich man came and prayed to the Lord. He offered a nice donation and prayed that his business should be prosperous. While going, the rich man inadvertently left his wallet full of money right there. Now the sweeper in the form of deity could not call him and so he decided to control himself and keep quiet. Just then a poor man came and he put one coin in the bowl as it was all he could afford, and he prayed to the Lord that he should continue to be engaged in the Lord's service. He also said that his family was in dire need of some basic necessities but he left it to the good hands of the Lord to provide a solution when the time is right. When he opened his eyes, he saw the wallet left by the rich man. The poor man thanked the Lord for His kindness and took the wallet very innocently. The sweeper in the form of the Deity could not say anything and he had to just keep smiling.
At that point a sailor walked in. He prayed for a safe journey as he was going to embark on a long trip. Just then the rich man came with the police and said that somebody has stolen his wallet, and seeing the sailor there, he asked the police to arrest him thinking that he might have taken it.
Now the sweeper in the form of Deity wanted to say that the sailor is not the thief but he could not say so and he became greatly frustrated. The sailor looked at the Lord and asked why he, an innocent person, is being punished.
The rich man looked at the Lord and thanked Him for finding the thief. The sweeper in the deity form could no longer tolerate it, and he thought that even if the real Lord had been here, he would have definitely interfered, and hence he started speaking and said that the sailor is not the thief but it was the poor man who took away the
wallet. The rich man was very thankful as was the sailor.
In the night, the real Lord came and He asked the sweeper how the day was. The sweeper said, "I thought it would be easy, but now I know that Your days are not easy, but I did one good thing." Then he explained the whole episode to the Lord.
The Lord became very upset on hearing this whereas the sweeper thought the Lord would appreciate him for the good deed done. The Lord asked, "Why did you not just stick to the plan? You had no faith in Me. Do you think that I do not understand the hearts of all those who come here? All the donations which the rich man gave were comprised of stolen money and it is only a fraction of what he really has and he wants Me to reciprocate with sincerity and without limits. The single coin offered by the poor man was the last coin he had and he gave it to Me out of faith. The sailor might not have done anything wrong, but if he would have embarked on his journey then, the raging storm that occurred that night would have killed him. Had he been arrested for that short while, he would have been saved from this great calamity and soon enough, justice would have prevailed.
The wallet should go to the poor man because he will use it in My service. I was going to reduce the rich man's burden of bad karma also by doing this and save the sailor also. But you canceled everything because you thought you know My plan and you made your own plans."
God has plans and justice for everyone....we just have to have patience!!!!!
