The eye specialist

One day while Gopal was walking along the street he saw a terrible battle going on in front of the office of an eye specialist. The eye specialist and a patient were arguing and shouting and striking each other. Gopal rushed to the spot and enquired what was going on.

The customer said, “Look at this fool! Look at this rogue! Just a few minutes ago I was walking along the street and I heard a man saying, ‘O Miracle-power! O Wonder of Wonders! I am cured of my affliction! I was blind for so many years. Then I came to this eye specialist, and now I can see everything! I can read even the tiniest letters!’ So since my eyesight is quite poor and I find it impossible to read, I thought I would get a new pair of glasses that would enable me to read everything. But this rogue is giving me glasses that don’t allow me to read anything!”

With mounting irritation the doctor replied, “What can I do? I have tried all the glasses I have, but none of them work for you. Nothing is suitable for you, so I am helpless.”

But the customer was not satisfied, and the argument went on. Finally the eye specialist shouted, “Get away from here! Don’t waste my time. I have many more patients to take care of.”

The customer refused to go away, however. He insisted, “No, you have to give me glasses so that I can read. I am ready to pay for them.”

Then Gopal interrupted and asked the customer, “First tell me, did you ever go to school? Did you ever study the alphabet? Did you ever learn to read?”

“Oh no, I didn’t go to school,” replied the customer. “I never studied anything. I didn’t learn how to read or write. That is why I want to get glasses from this doctor, but he refuses to help me.”

“You don’t even know the alphabet and you think that wearing glasses will now teach you how to read? You fool! Wearing glasses will not teach you how to read,” cried Gopal. “And you!” he continued, turning to the doctor. “How is it that while you were offering him one pair of glasses after another, you never asked him whether he knew how to read?”

Spiritual comments

In the spiritual life also, you have to start with something. If you have a little aspiration, then the Master can increase it by bringing down Peace, Light and Bliss for you. If you have a little eagerness for spirituality, only then can the Master increase your eagerness in infinite measure. But if someone has no aspiration, what can the Master do? If one has absolutely nothing, then he is a hopeless case. Even the Master is helpless and useless at that time.