Tolstoy has a very famous story. A high priest in Russia came to know that three saints had appeared on the other side of a lake, behind the mountains. People were rushing to see them. They had become very popular among the poor villagers. These simple people were worshiping these saints as gods. The high priest could not tolerate this.
The high priest was alarmed. He said that it was incomprehensible how someone could become a saint without his permission. In Christianity, there is a strict procedure for this. The church issues a certificate to become a saint. In fact, the English word 'saint' is derived from a Greek word meaning 'sanctus'. One who is approved becomes a saint. One who has received approval from the authorities, who has received a certificate, is a saint.
The high priest was angry. Without my permission? Because in Christianity, every year a decree is issued stating how many saints have been made, and the names are listed in the decree. But their names were not there. But every day news kept coming and the crowd kept increasing. People from the cities started going, people started coming less to the churches, the saints had created a frenzy. Finally, the high priest also had to go, he had to see for himself.
He went, sitting on his motorboat. The simple people, seeing him, stood up. His robe, his shining gold stars, the approvals and honors given to him by the emperors on his chest, his manner was impressive.
Those who have nothing inside, they create impressive ways. Those whose soul is like ashes, not like a flame, they collect titles like Padma Bhushan, Bharat Bhushan, Bharat Ratna, and who knows what other titles.
Seeing this, the three saints stood up. All three bowed to him in greeting. A saint is always ready to bow. He has enjoyed the pleasure of bowing, the taste of bowing, the ecstasy of bowing. He has mastered the secret of bowing.
At first, the priest was afraid in his mind that these rebellious saints might not bow, might not agree, but they were just ordinary village farmers. It was not difficult to subdue them. He said in a loud, harsh voice, "What kind of a commotion have you created here? Why is such a crowd coming here?"
The three said, "We have done nothing. We haven't called anyone. The truth is, due to the arrival of people, there has been a lot of interruption in our prayers. It would be a great favor if you could stop the people. We were very happy for years, no one knew. There was this lake, these mountains, and us. There was a lot of joy. Now we are very disturbed by this crowd."
"It would be a great favor from you and we are not any saints or anything. But no matter how much we say, people don't believe, the more we say we are not, the more the crowd increases."
The high priest relaxed. He said, "There's no need to worry. These are very simple people."
He asked them, "Was there any problem in prayer? What did you pray for?"
Then the three became a little shy. They said, "You shouldn't ask this. Because we are illiterate, we don't know how to pray and we haven't learned to pray from anyone. We are completely foolish and we have created a prayer ourselves."
Then the high priest got more angry. He said, "Have you ever heard of someone creating their own prayer? The church prayer is fixed. Are you even Christians?"
They said, "Certainly."
"Then how did you create a prayer without permission? Tell me your prayer."
They became very shy. Surely no one can tell someone their prayer? Prayer is personal and private. Telling someone your prayer would be like making love in the middle of the market. It would be ridiculous, absurd. Love desires solitude. Prayer even more so desires solitude. No one should know about it.
They started saying, "Now don't ask. If you ask, we will have to tell. But we don't know anything, like this we have created a domestic style prayer. You will laugh and make fun of us a lot. God will forgive us because He knows that we are foolish, ignorant and sinful, but the people of this world will laugh a lot."
The high priest became even more stubborn. He said, "You have to tell me. Because if it's wrong, I will correct it. If it's completely wrong, I will give you the right prayer, the prayer prescribed by the church."
When he didn't agree, they said, "We have made a small prayer. Christianity believes that there are three forms of God, so the three of us said, we have made a small prayer that you are also three, we are also three, have mercy on us. Now is this even a prayer? It's just a joke. You are also three, we are also three, and He was also three, what else can I say? You are also three and we are also three, the matter is settled. Now have mercy on us. And there's nothing more to say."
The high priest also laughed. His seriousness broke. He said, "You are extremely foolish people. Now don't say this prayer again. Is this even a prayer?"
He recited a long prayer, the approved prayer of the church, to them. They listened with great interest. But they said, "It's too long, we will forget. Please tell it once more." He told it again. Still, they said, "Please do us a favor, repeat it once more. So that we can remember. If we forget any word or make a mistake, we will be stuck."
So the high priest recited the prayer three times. He said, "These are great fools. I have to tell the prayer three times." After arranging everything properly, he was very happy that his visit was not in vain. The journey was fruitful. Now this problem was over. He would go and tell them that they were no saints, they were just village idiots.
The high priest was sitting in his motorboat, happily returning. He had reached about halfway.
He looked back in shock and saw something like a storm coming from behind. He didn't understand, nor could the sailors understand, because nothing like this had ever happened, nothing like this had ever happened in this lake. What is happening? When the storm seemed to be getting closer, he saw that the three saints - the same idiot saints - were running on the water. They were running on the water as if it were a flat road.
They came and stood near him. Folding their hands, they started saying, "Wait, we forgot that prayer. Please tell it one more time." The high priest's eyes opened wide.
Seeing this majestic form, he realized who was the fool. Was it them or was it me? This time he bowed at their feet. He said, "Forgive me. Your first prayer is correct. I don't need your permission. It seems you have already received permission. Who am I? I am just a middleman. Your connection with Him is direct, forget me. Forgive me. And if you can, pray for me too, now that you say you are three, we are also three, now say, you are three, we are four - include me too - have mercy on me."
