OH GOD!

There once was a wise saint who lived in an ashram. He had several devotees who studied under him. Every day, he would teach them things about God and world."Guruji, where is God?" asked a devotee one day. "Everywhere, my son," said Guru. "Everywhere?" asked the devotee, puzzled. "Yes, everywhere. In everything you see. And inside everyone too," replied the Guru. The devotee pondered over it for a while. That evening, he was still thinking about it while returning home. "I wonder what the Guruji meant by all that," he thought. "How can God be everywhere?"

As the devotee was walking, he suddenly saw an elephant rushing down the road. There was a mahout on the elephant yelling out for everyone to move away. "The elephant has gone mad! Please get out of the way!" Initially, the devotee was scared but then he thought to himself, "Guruji has told me that God is everywhere. That means He is in that elephant. And God is in me as well." The devotee came to the conclusion, "God cannot attack God! So, the elephant will not attack me. I have nothing to fear." Even as the elephant charged towards him, the devotee stood in his place, confident. "He won't harm me," he thought with a smile. The mahout yelled several warnings to the devotee, but he didn't budge. "Move you foolish man! He will trample you! You will be crushed to death!"

Coming at a fast pace, the elephant reached the devotee. Mad with fury, the animal wrapped its trunk around him and picked him up. The devotee shrieked with fear and disbelief. Even as he thought, "This cannot be happening!" the elephant flung him aside in anger.

Fortunately, the foolish devotee landed on a haystack and was unhurt. As he lay there in shock and relief, his Guru and friends came running towards him. "What happened? Why did you stand there? asked the Guru. "Guruji," said the trembling devotee, "You told me God was in everything and in everyone. If God was in the elephant, why did he fling me aside like that?"

The Guru smiled. "Yes, God is in the elephant. But God is also in the mahout who kept warning you to move. Why did you not listen to him?" The devotee had no answer.

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