The Indian sage, Sri Ramakrishna, used to play with the Goddess Kali whom he worshipped as his mother.
Many of his followers asked him how they, too, could have a vision of the Goddess. He answered them with an instructive parable. It is below and I have taken some liberties to bring it into today’s world.
Sheila watched by the door as her husband kissed her goodbye and took Soumya, their daughter, to school. Then she closed the door and went to her desk. It was going to be a busy day. She was the chief organizer of School Day for Soumya’s school. She had not wanted that role but had given in to the entreaties of the principal and the other parents. There were a ton of details to take care of. The tent company was not sure if it had a tent of the size needed. The magician was asking for more money. The caterer had questions about the menu that had been decided. The police wanted to implement security protocols. The adjacent church had agreed to allow its parking lot to be used as an overflow lot but was now having second thoughts.
She peeked into the nursery. Her nine-month-old son was on a baby blanket and scrunching his face. In another month he would be crawling and she would not be able to leave him alone. But, for now, he was fine by himself. She gave him his rattle. It was an electronic toy and could play fifty different tunes depending on how it was held and how strongly it was shaken.
She was speaking with the caterer when she heard a wail. Her son had discarded the rattle and was crying. She gave him a toy drum and taught him to bang it with his tiny hand. She went back to her calls.
A few minutes later he was crying again. She rushed in and gave him a kaleidoscope. He knew how to hold it and where to look and his face beamed. She returned to work.
Fifteen minutes later he was crying again. She rushed in and gave him his rattle. He threw it away. She gave him his drum and he dropped it. He did not want his kaleidoscope either. Nor any of his other toys. Finally, she gave up. She called her assistant and asked him to take care of the remaining tasks and picked up her son. “Mommy’s with you now,” she cooed. “Did you miss Mommy that much?”
That is how it works, Sri Ramakrishna would explain. The Mother gives you all kinds of toys to distract you. Big toys like jobs, careers, children, money, fame and so on. Little toys like a new Netflix thriller, a vacation, beer with friends. As long as these take your attention, she is busy elsewhere. When you are no longer consoled with all these toys and you want her, and only her, she finally comes to soothe you.
It is an instructive parable. You want happiness that is unconditional. Happiness that never ends. You want to sense God in your life at all places and all times.
How badly do you want it? What will you give up to get it?
Remember The Sermon on the Mount, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and then all things shall be added unto you.”
Peace!
