Scriptures couldn’t quench his thirst. Rituals left him empty. Then one rainstorm washed away everything he thought he knew about God…
This was the crisis of a seeker long ago, but his awakening holds a key for us all.
🔔 When the Scholar Got Drenched
There was once a great scholar, learned in the Vedas and Upanishads, master of rituals and fluent in spiritual philosophy. Yet something was missing. Despite his intellect, he had never tasted the sweetness of divine experience.
Night after night, he would stare at his shelves of sacred texts—so much knowledge, yet his heart remained a desert.
One day, he approached a God-realised saint and asked earnestly:
“Maharaj, I have read countless scriptures, performed every ritual. But I have not seen God, nor felt even a glimpse of His presence. What sadhana must I do to know Him truly?”
“Maharaj, I have read countless scriptures, performed every ritual. But I have not seen God, nor felt even a glimpse of His presence. What sadhana must I do to know Him truly?”
The saint looked into his heart and smiled.
“Go outside, lift your hands to the heavens, and cry out to God for two hours. Do this with sincerity, and you shall receive your answer.”
The scholar obeyed. Arms raised, tears flowing, he cried out into the sky.
But within minutes, the heavens answered with a different kind of grace—rain.
But within minutes, the heavens answered with a different kind of grace—rain.
It began lightly, then poured with force. Still, the scholar continued, soaked to the bone.
Two hours later, shivering and drenched, he returned.
The saint asked, “Well, what was your experience?”
The scholar replied:
“Water ran down my face. My clothes were drenched. My arms ached. And above all, I felt like a complete fool.”
“Water ran down my face. My clothes were drenched. My arms ached. And above all, I felt like a complete fool.”
The saint gently responded:
“That was your first real spiritual experience. For the first time, your pride cracked. You realised you are not in control. That feeling of foolishness? It's the doorway to humility. And humility is the first step to God.”
“That was your first real spiritual experience. For the first time, your pride cracked. You realised you are not in control. That feeling of foolishness? It's the doorway to humility. And humility is the first step to God.”
That day, he returned with more than wet clothes—he carried the first spark of surrender.
💡 The First Crack in the Ego
Like the scholar, we often mistake knowledge for wisdom.
But when life’s storms drench our pretences, we too can discover the humility that makes divine love possible.
But when life’s storms drench our pretences, we too can discover the humility that makes divine love possible.
True spirituality doesn’t begin when we accumulate, but when we surrender.
🪜 The 3-Step Path to Divine Love
Tulsidas ji offers a timeless formula:
जानें बिनु न होइ परतीति, बिनु परतीति न होइ न प्रीति।
jāneṁ binu na hoi pratīti, binu pratīti na hoi na prīti.
Without knowing God, you cannot have faith. Without faith, you cannot have love.
Imagine it like a ladder:
📖 KNOWLEDGE — Understanding who God is
💛 FAITH — Trusting what you understand
🕊️ LOVE — The natural flowering of that trust
💍 The Parable of the Ring
A man once found a ring on the beach. He guessed it might be worth ₹1,000 and slipped it into his pocket.
Later, a jeweller examined it and said, “This is 22-karat gold! Worth at least ₹1,00,000.”
Days later, his uncle—a seasoned jeweller from New York—saw the ring and said:
“This stone is rare. It’s worth at least ₹1 crore!”
Suddenly, the ring felt precious beyond measure.
Same ring. Same man. What changed?
👉 His knowledge.
He didn’t need to chant or meditate on the ring. He simply understood its worth, and love followed naturally.
Most of us treat God like a ₹1,000 trinket, not because He is small, but because we’ve never let His true worth sink in.
When we begin to grasp who God truly is, love becomes inevitable.
🏛️ When Faith Becomes a Transaction
Many of us treat God like a negotiator or more like a cosmic bellboy:
“Hanumanji, if my child recovers, I’ll offer you 5 kg of laddus.”
But why do we hesitate to offer them now? Perhaps because, deep down, we’re still learning to trust.
This is not devotion—it’s a deal.
🧗 The Man Hanging from the Cliff
A man once trekked too close to the edge of a cliff. He slipped. Falling, he caught hold of a bush. Dangling 300 feet in the air, he cried:
“O Sitaram! Please save me!”
A voice replied:
“I am here. Let go. I will catch you.”
He hesitated:
“But what if you don’t catch me?”
God responded:
“My child, you’re afraid to fall?
I am the ground beneath all things.
Let go… and discover you were already held.”
🌱 What Are You Clinging To?
That bush you’re holding onto—name it.
Is it your intellect? Your fear? Your conditions?
Is it your intellect? Your fear? Your conditions?
Today, loosen one finger.
Then another.
Then another.
The fall into grace begins when you stop pretending you can fly alone.
Perhaps the only thing between you and grace is the courage to let go—and the willingness to be caught.
📖 Scriptural Foundation
As Shree Krishna declares in the Bhagavad Gita (4.11):
ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम्।
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
“As all surrender unto Me, I reciprocate with them accordingly.”
God doesn’t demand perfection.
He responds to sincerity.
God doesn’t demand perfection.
He responds to sincerity.
🌸 Final Reflection
Come to Him—
Not with minds puffed with pride,
But with hands open, hearts humble, and souls ready to receive.
Not with minds puffed with pride,
But with hands open, hearts humble, and souls ready to receive.
What’s keeping you from letting go—and falling into His grace?
Can you name it?
And now…
Can you release it?
