Who Knows God?

Anecdotes

oi-Staff

By Staff

Friday, August 28, 2009, 16:26

A person who passed through the woods, came upon a small animal on a tree. On reaching his village he told the villagers about the animal which was red in colour. A few others revealed that they had also seen the animal but entered into an argument with regards to its colour. One said it was blue, another said it was green and yet another remarked that it was yellow. It seemed strange to them.

The villagers with disputing ideas with regards to the animal's appearance walked to the woods to ascertain its actual colour. On reaching the tree where they had spotted the animal individually, they saw a man sitting under it. Hence the villagers walked up to him and enquired of the animal, each one stating a different colour. The villager said that he lived under the tree and the claims of all who had spotted the animal were true. However to the surprise of the others, he said that sometimes the animal was colourless, though at other times it appeared in different hues. He informed them that it was a Chameleon.

Sri Ramakrishna says that the one who knows God is the one whose thoughts are constantly with Him. He is the one who knows that the Lord is both with attributes and without. It is only to such a person that the Lord reveals His true nature. It is he who knows that God appears in different aspects to different people. He is the one who knows the formless nature of the divine though manifested in different forms. The others steeped in unawareness, are the one's who get into futile argument.