Once upon a time conceit entered into the heart of Narada
and he thought there was no greater devotee than himself. Reading his heart,
the Lord said, “Narada go to such and such a place; there is a great Bhakta;
cultivate his acquaintance; he is my true devotee.
Narada went and found a peasant who rose early in the
morning, spoke the name of Hari (god) once, and taking his plough went out and
tilled the ground the whole day. At night before going to bed he uttered the
name of Hari once more.
Narada said to himself” “How can this rustic be a lover of
God? I see him busy in worldly duties and no sign of a pious man about him.”
So the sage went back to the Lord and told Him what he
thought of his new acquaintance.
But the Lord said, “Narada, take this cup of oil and go
round the city and come back with it, but take care that you do not spill a
single drop of it.”
Narada did as he was told, and on his return, he was asked
by the Lord how many times he had remembered Him in his circuit of the city.
Narada replied, “Not once, O Lord; for how could I, when I had
to keep the whole of my mind fixed on this cup, brimful of oil?”
Then the Lord said, “This one cup of oil so diverted your
attention that you forgot Me altogether. Look now at that peasant who, carrying
the mighty load of all his worldly duties, remembers Me, nevertheless, twice
every day.
Story by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa