When a man becomes embroiled in the rat race of the world, there is little time for him to think of God. Shri Nathji told the following story:
Narada, the great sage, came before God and said:
O Lord! Show me the greatest of thy devotees upon earth!
And God showed him a farmer. The man went to his chores in the morning, said Rama! once, and returned in the night, and said Rama! a second time. The sage, Narada was puzzled and also hurt. He said to God:
Here I am, – O Lord! – taking thy name day and night! And you tell me this farmer–who is neither literate nor a pandit nor a saint, and who calls out your name only twice in one full day–is thy greatest devotee! “What justification can you give for such a choice?
And God said:
All right! I shall prove what I say! Look below on the earth! I have created a circle of temptations! It is a carnival carrying some of the greatest pitfalls of the human flesh. Now take this cup of milk filled to the brim, and walk along that circle in the midst of the temptations along the path! Tell me how many times you say ‘Rama’ without spilling a single drop of milk!”
Narada took the brimful cup of milk in his hand and walked around fearfully on the circle of temptations. When he had completed the round, God asked him:
Well? Did you spill a drop?
No, O Lord! I didn’t! said Narada.
How many times did you say ‘Rama’ while you were walking?
I was too scared to remember it! said Narada who was breathing heavily and perspiring with the tension.
That farmer I showed you, said God, goes out every morning into the temptations of the world. He carries with him the cup of his heart, and he spills not a drop. And yet he thinks of me twice in a day! You did not think of me even once!