Worthy of Worship

In ancient kingdom of Mithila, a person named Shyam used to do a lot of religious and social activities. He used to worship various angels, prophets, demigods and goddesses. With his power of worshipping, all the angels, demigods etc. used to appear in front of him whenever he wished. One day, he got extremely sick and was not able to even move. He remembered that he could pray for any powerful deity or angel and can get cured. So he started praying for them.

To his surprise, none of the angels or demigods appeared before him. He was disheartened as whoever he had worshipped his whole life did not come to help him. After somehow recovering, he started searching for the person who could guide him for the truth of those demigods.

After some months of searching, he found one saint. He went near the saint and told him about whatever happened with him. The saint looked at Shyam and said, "Dear Shyam! You had worshipped everyone but not the True God. That was the reason nobody could help you when you were in the deepest of trouble. If you had worshipped the Almighty God, you would have understood that only the God is the one who is the source of everything. The angels or demigods you had worshipped get their strength and divine powers only because of the God. Make your connection with the God, then only you will never be disheartened. Each moment in your life is possible because of the God. Only the God is worthy of worship."

Shyam was confused and asked, "But what is the problem in worshipping other divine beings?" The saint replied, "You had experienced that already Shyam. Those divine beings can only do something they are permitted to do by the God. They cannot light your inner world. They cannot remove any pain or suffering from your life. The darkness of pain and suffering can only be removed when you see the light of God within you."

Listening this, Shyam asked, "O great saint, does that mean, we should pay no respect to other divine beings?" The saint said, "There is no problem of respecting those divine beings, but it would be of no use if you do not realize the truth that they are divine because of the God. Forgetting the God in this world, who is the giver of life is the worst act of deceit. If you do not worship the Almighty, your respect towards other divine beings is nothing but hypocrisy."

Shyam requested, "How can I worship the Almighty God?"

The saint smiled and said, "You need not to do anything to worship the Almighty God. You just need to realize the light of God within. Once you experience the presence of God, your heart would be filled with love and gratitude. That is all you need to do for worshipping the God and the Almighty God would become happy. The God would then give you the best gift, the gift of peace and contentment."

Shyam was delighted to listen this and requested the saint, "O great saint, your kindness had removed the questions that were paining me all this while. Please provide me the divine knowledge of realizing the God." Seeing the humble request of Shyam, the saint gave him the gift of self knowledge.