Parable on God


Parable on God

Once upon a time there lived a king. He had a minister, rather a wise knowledgeable person. He helped a king to solve every important problem and never did he fail to find the right answer. He was in a state of grace and the king asked him the other day,

“Do you trust in God?”
“I do,” - the minister answered
“Well then, answer my three questions: Where does God live? How can I find Him? And what does He do?”

The minister trusted in God, but was unable to answer any of them at once, as it was usual practice before. He even could not answer within several days. For some days he had not any peace and slept. Even at night suffering insomnia he proceeded turning these questions over in his mind.

This ministry had a little son. And this very son took notice that his father was too much upset about something: he poorly eats and sleeps. So he asked his father,
“What happened to you, Dad?”

“Sonny, dear, I always promptly answered every king’s question. It’s for the first time that I couldn’t give any answer to all his questions. And up to now, though many days have passed since then, I am unable to find these answers.”
And here his son said:
“Tell me what questions the king asked you. It may happen that I will be able to answer them.”

And the ministry repeated the questions of the king. With no slightest embarrassment about their complicacy the boy said:
“It is simple. Don’t be troubled by anything. Only ask the king if he doesn’t mind these questions to be answered by your son.”

In the morning the ministry and his son came to the palace. The ministry asked the king whether his majesty would allow to his son to answer these questions. The king was surprised, but anyhow he did not mind. He added that it were the answers that mattered, and it’s of no importance who would give them. And here the boy came nearer and said,

“I do have the answers to all your questions.”
“You may speak!” said the king.
“First, I ought to sit at your throne, and you, please, sit down beneath,” said the boy, “then I will proceed.”

Slightly astonished the king agreed to. Further the boy asked to bring a bowl with milk. When milk was brought, the boy hold a bowl and dipped his finger into the milk, there he began to move the finger in a circle.

“What are you doing?” asked the king.
“Look at the milk in a bowl, is there any butter in it?”
“Not any,” answered the king.
“Right you are. It is only milk so far. Anyway, there is also butter in it, which still cannot be seen. So that to obtain butter you should stir it long, then churn it, and butter will gradually rise in some time. There is butter in milk already, continued the boy, but you do not see it. The same way God shows himself: He lives everywhere and in everything. Anyway, He is unseen. This is the answer to your first question.”
“In order to see God a man should continuously and uninterruptedly work over himself and should find the particle of God that is always very close, but is unseen all the same. This way butter is not visible in milk until you make efforts and separate it from milk. And this is the answer to your second question.”
“And now your last question: what does God do? He changes everything. Every successive day does not pass away the same way as the previous one. Everything occurs on His will. The one who was sitting below may appear to sit on the top, like me on the throne and you being sitting beneath.”