A spiritual aspirant once went to a certain saint and said:"Sir, tell me the means by which I may obtain a vision of God."
The saint advised him to retire into seclusion and apply himself to uninterrupted prayer for one full year.
"On the completion of the year", the saint further advised, "after having thoroughly subdued and annihilated your egoism, come to me after taking a bath."
According to this advice of the saint the aspirant started prayer in right earnest.
A sweeper used to come to sweep the ground around the hut of the saint. On the day when the aspirant was to complete his one year of Sadhana, the saint called the sweeper aside and, mentioning the place where the aspirant was living, said, "There is a person engaged in worship of God at that place. When he finishes his bath this morning, scatter dust over him with your broom."
The sweeper did as he was instructed. This upset the aspirant very much. In a fit of anger he ran after the sweeper to beat him.
"The scoundrel has thoroughly defiled me." he said, and taking bath for the second time, came to the hermitage of the saint. "Sir, one full year has been compeleted since you gave me your instructions. May i now have the privilege of having the vision of the Lord?"
The saint replied, "Child, your mind is not yet subdued. Even now you run in anger to bite like a venomous snake. Go and worship for one year more and destroy the mind."
The aspirant therefore retired again and engaged himself in prayer for another year.
On the year when the second year was to be completed, the saint instructed the sweeper to touch the aspirant with his broom when the latter finished his bath. The sweeper did exactly as he was told. This time the aspirant did not run after the sweeper to beat him, but rebuked him with harsh and unbecoming words. Then, taking bath again, he went to the saint wit his prayer for the vision of God.
The saint said,"The serpent of your mind even now emits terrible and fearful hisses. How can you expect to see God without killing it? Go and apply yourself to your practice of prayer for another year. But take care, if you fail in the test the next time, God will not favour you with His vision."
This time the aspirant carried on his spiritual practices with great determination. On the day when he was to complete the third year of practice, the saint asked the sweeper to throw upon him the entire lot of dirt that he had collected that morning. The sweeper carried out this instruction also, but the aspirant had now conquered anger. Bowing before the sweeper, he said with unaffected humility, "Brother, you have done me a great favour. Had you not done this, now could i have freed myself from the grip of anger? I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Then, once more the aspirant approached the saint. The saint blessed and initiated him. The aspirant did rigorous spiritual practice according to the advice of the teacher and soon had the vision of the Lord.
Swami Sivananda
