God Seeks Advice from the Sage

Instead of telling your kids all those violent myths about "heroes" slaughtering their enemies in the name of God, you might tell them this one...

God was so plagued by human prayers, he needed some quiet time. All he heard was, "I want, I want, I want. Why won't you give me this, why won't you give me that!" The voices in God's head drove God crazy.

So God left the temple and hid in the forest where it was peaceful. But people found him in a tree and started praying to the trees, "I want this, I want that!"

So God hid in a rock in the desert. But people started worshiping stones, crystals, Shiva lingams, praying, "Please fix this for me, please fix that!"

Then God hid in a snake. "They'll never look for me here!" But people started worshiping God in the form of serpents and other animals, "O Serpent God, give me, give me, give me! Why won't you answer all my prayers?"

Then God escaped into the stars, far far from the earth. But people started praying to the stars, "I want this, I want that, give it to me, please!"

Finally God went to visit the sage Kamalanda. God bowed to the sage in respect and said, "You know these creatures better than I do because you're one of them. I'd like some advice."

"Welcome to my hut," said Kamalanda. "Be my guest." Kamalanda gave God some tea, then asked, "How can I help?"

God explained to Kamalanda, "I'm not saying I regret creating them, just saying I never knew these humans would whine so much. I made them free and gave them my creative power, my Shakti, so they could solve their own problems. But instead of using my gift, they torment me with ceaseless questions. Where can I go to find some peace and quiet?"

For a few moments, the sage Kamalanda listened within. Then he smiled and tapped on his chest. "Hide here," he said. "They will never think to look for God in their own breath, their own heart."

So God became a breath and hid in the human heart. To this day, very few people look for God here, and those who do are filled with so much joy they don't have any questions.