Stick to one god

There were two friends who were very spiritual. One of them eventually became a great seeker, but for some time he used to do something that seemed to indicate that he did not have any real depth: every day he would worship a different cosmic god or goddess. This seeker became very well known, and many people would ask him to pray to the cosmic gods or goddesses on their behalf. He did it quite happily. He used to tell them, “If you like Lord Krishna, then I will pray to Lord Krishna. If you like Shiva, then I will pray in front of Shiva’s image. If you like Mother Kali, then I will worship Mother Kali. It is up to you. Most sincerely I will pray on your behalf. But I cannot guarantee the results.”

So, people would give him money and then ask him to pray on their behalf for the deity of their choice to bless them and solve all their problems.

The seeker’s friend heard that he was making lots of money by worshipping this god and that god. This friend was not at all well known, although he was also an excellent seeker. He realised that his dear friend was doing something which would seriously affect his own spiritual progress. So one day he came and dug five deep holes in front of his friend’s house. The great seeker came out and said, “What are you doing? Why are you digging so many holes? Is one not enough for you?”

His friend stopped digging for a moment and said, “I am making these holes with the hope that, from one of them, water will spring up.”

The seeker said, “What do you mean? How will you know that any hole has water if you do not dig it deeper than all the others? My friend, I advise you to concentrate on only one hole!”

The friend smiled and said, “You have to give me this piece of advice? Every day you are praying to a different cosmic god or goddess with the hope that one day one of them will be pleased with you. By constantly changing, you are not giving the proper amount of time to any one of them. That is why I have dug these holes in your garden. It is high time for you to realise that if you want results, you have to stick to one god or goddess.”

This was how the friend taught the great seeker a most significant spiritual lesson.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Amusement I enjoy, enlightenment I study, part 6, Agni Press, 1998
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/aie_6