There lived one very learned man in Bengal. His name was Bhatgoji. He was known for never going to temple. He was already old, he was over sixty, when his ninety-year-old father said:
- Well, this is too much! I went to temple and prayed every day! And I didn’t tell you anything, thinking that you would come to understand yourself! But now you are already sixty! It's time to go and prepare for another world! So when will you go to the temple to pray and praise the Almighty?
Bhatgoji said in response:
“I have seen you so many times going to the temple and so many times I have seen you returning from there the same as before!” And so I doubted: is the question, how many years and how many times have you been praying? It seems that the whole question is how you pray, the only question is the quality.
I’ve been watching you for a long time and I can’t understand - is prayer not working? No, something is wrong here! Tomorrow is my birthday. I will go to the temple and do everything in my power. I will try to put my whole self, my whole soul into prayer. I will pray only once - but I will leave nothing inside. I'll try to get fully into it - but only once. If something is supposed to happen, it will happen. If nothing else, then I'll leave it at that. And why then go again, since there will be no benefit? Then it's just pointless!
His father laughed and said:
- Lord, what a fool! And he is also reputed to be a most learned person! Yes, you need to pray for whole lives in a row for something to happen! Well, God be with you, may He enlighten your brains! Come on, come on! Let's see what you can come up with!
Bhatgoji went to the temple and never returned. Having made his only prayer before the deity of the temple, he died. He really went completely into it - and there was nothing left of him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru