God Is Controlled By Love

Once there was a saint in Barsana, who used to love and adore Shri Radha Rani. He would visit the temple of Shri Ji, on top of the Barsana Hill every-day and spend hours singing Her glories. He had great faith in the graciousness of Shri Radha.

One day as he was sitting in the porch of the temple singing Her glories, he noticed that the devotees coming to the temple, brought with them various items like food, flowers, clothes, ornaments etc. to offer. He felt odd that he had been coming there for years, yet had not brought anything to offer. That moment he decided that he would make a special dress for Shri Radha with his own hands.

From that day on, he embarked on the ambitious project to make a dress. He bought a beautiful pink colored silk cloth, stitched it with his own hands, put gota pati on it and sewed beautiful multi-colored beads on it to enhance its looks. He thought that the dress should be befitting of Shri Radha Rani’s beauty and charm. It took him a full one month to make that dress. Once satisfied with his creation, he became impatient to offer it to Shri Radha.

He set on his way to Shri Ji temple. Being on a hilltop, he had to climb about 200 steps to get there. 

When he was half-way through his journey, a little village girl came to him and asked, "Baba what is that you are carrying with you"? He replied that this is a dress for Shri Radha Rani. The girl innocently said, "Shri Radha has many dresses. Please give this one to me". Baba Ji tried to distract the little girl saying, “I made this dress with my own hands for Radha Rani. If you want one, I'll get it for you from the market tomorrow". The little girl kept insisting and imploring him to give her the dress. Realizing that the Baba Ji will not give her the dress on his own, she snatched away the dress from him and swiftly ran away from there. Since Baba Ji was old, he could not even chase her. He slumped down on the stairs crying in pain and agony. Many people passed that way and tried to console Baba Ji, but he was overcome with sadness. He felt that his love for Shri Radha was still not perfect, hence she refused to accept his gift. With a heavy heart, he decided to resume his journey to the temple to sing her glories and to implore Her to grace him, such that his heart would become pure and She would be willing to accept a gift from him. As he reached the top of the hill and entered the temple, he could not believe what he saw - Shri Radha Rani was looking magnificent, adorned in the same pink dress that he had so lovingly stitched for Her. 

Tears started rolling down his eyes and He said, "Ha Lali! I was bringing the dress just for You. But You were so eager to wear it, that You could not wait for me to get it for You. You personally came to get it from my hands. Alas! I didn’t recognize You"! 

All of a sudden, he heard his beloved Lali’s voice whisper softly in his ears, "Baba! This is not merely a dress. This is a symbol of your deep and pure love for Me and I forever remain under the control of love. I was as eager to reciprocate that love, as you were to offer it to me". 

MORAL
Shri Krishna says in the Gita -

"I reciprocate My devotee’s feelings with same intensity and with the same bhav".  

Not just that

"If a Jeev takes a single step towards Me, I take 60 steps towards him". Always remember this. Realizing the grace of God, enhances the grace and helps one progress faster on the path of devotion.