Divine vision

Once a lady was in doubt over the vision of God, so she asked Saint Dnyaneshwar, “Why does God give His vision to only some chosen ones and not everybody? Why does He treat us unequally?” On this, Saint Dynaneshwar said, “Surely, God will not give His vision to just anyone, but only to those who deserve to receive it.” But the lady was not convinced with this answer. So, the Saint decided to teach her through a live example.

After a few days the Saint sent a man, who was a stranger to the lady, to her house. The man asked the lady, “Can you please give me all your gold jewelry? I will surely return it after a month.” The lady at once shouted, “Who are you? I don’t know you, so how can I trust you with my precious jewelry?” The man then pleaded, “Ok, then at least give me just your gold ring, and I promise that I will return it.” But the lady drove him away and threatened to report him to the police, if he returned. The man went back to Saint Dnyaneshwar and told Him what had happened.

The very next day, Saint Dnyaneshwar approached the lady and requested, “Mother, will you please give me your gold jewelry? I am in need of some money, but I will return them to you exactly in four days time.” The lady at once brought out all her jewelry and giving them to the Saint, she said, “Why only for four days, you can keep them for a few months if you need. I know I can trust Your word. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve You.”

Immediately, the Saint asked, “Why are you ready to give your jewelry to me and refused to give it to the person who had come yesterday?” The lady replied, “You are no doubt God’s man – a Saint. I can trust You. But, that person was a stranger, so how could I trust him?”

Saint Dnyaneshwar then asked her that if she could not trust even worldly things to a stranger, then how can we expect God to give His vision, far more valuable than worldly things, to everyone? He added that as long as one’s ‘I’ (identity separate from the Lord) exists, we are like strangers to God. He then went on to explain that only when one surrenders completely to God does the Lord bless one with His vision.

Moral: One needs to surrender totally to God to experience His vision and other divine treasures like constant happiness. Daily chanting of the Lord’s Name as much as possible is a simple way to surrender to the Lord.