From The Essence of Self-Realization,
by Paramhansa Yogananda
“Always, in all things, behold God as the Doer.
“It is a matter of inner attitude. It isn’t the outward show of humility that so many devotees assume from a desire to impress others.
“A little story will illustrate what I mean.
“The gopis used to go every day to bring fresh cheese to Krishna. One day, the river Jamuna was in spate, and the gopis couldn’t cross it to reach him. ‘What shall we do?’ they cried.
“And then they remembered Byasa, a great devotee of Krishna, who lived on their own side of the river.
“‘Byasa is a saint,’ they cried. ‘Let us go to him. Perhaps he’ll perform a miracle for us and help us somehow to get across the river.’ They went and asked him to help them reach Krishna.
“‘Krishna! Krishna!’ Byasa shouted, pretending to be displeased. ‘All I ever hear is Krishna! What about me?’
“Well, the gopis were very embarrassed! The cheese was for Krishna, but still, they didn’t dare refuse Byasa a taste of it since they’d asked him to help them. So they offered him a little bit. And Byasa ate, and ate, and ate, apparently with the greatest relish.
“When he’d eaten as much as his stomach could hold, he somehow carried himself to the river bank, and there he cried, ‘O river Jamuna, if I have not eaten anything, divide up and part!’
“‘What a liar!’ the gopis whispered among themselves. ‘Just see how he has gorged himself. And now he dares to command the river’s obedience on the very condition that he hasn’t eaten a thing!’
“At that moment the river parted! Not pausing to ponder this mystery, the gopis rushed across to the other side. There, as they approached Krishna’s hut, they found him asleep.
“‘What’s this?’ they wondered. Usually Krishna was standing outside his hut, eagerly awaiting their visit—and the cheese.
“‘Lord,’ they cried, ‘aren’t you hungry today?’
“‘Hm?’ replied Krishna, opening his eyes sleepily.
“‘We’ve brought you your cheese, Lord.’
“‘Oh, thank you,’ said Krishna. ‘But I’m no longer hungry.’
“‘But why? Has someone fed you already?’
“‘Oh, yes,’ he replied. ‘That fellow, Byasa, on the other bank has fed me too much already.’
“Byasa, you see, had offered the food first to Krishna, and had thought of him constantly while eating it. He didn’t eat in ego-consciousness, but only in the thought that Krishna was eating through him.
“In that way, every devotee should feel that God is acting through him.
“Stop dwelling on the thought of ‘I, I’! Sing ever in your heart, instead, ‘Thou, Thou, Lord, only Thou!’”
