The King had declared an open feast, and all one had to do was to reach the place. The news spread through the kingdom, and all waited for the appointed day, even as they thought of the all the dishes that awaited them.
But when the day arrived, all were not happy, for they could not go to the feast. There was a strong man in body, but blind, and he could not find his way to the feast.
He had wandered around since dawn, but was not reaching the desired destination. And yet another was lame, and could not walk. He had tried since the morning too, but could only crawl a little distance, but was still far from the feast.
Both the blind and the lame man are very sad. And then, a wise master passed them by. “You realize, ” he said, “that each of you are not able to go to the feast. But do you know that both of you together have all that it will take to reach the desired destination?” And so, he taught the lame to reach across, and climb upon the shoulders of the strong but blind man.
The lame would see and direct, while the blind would carry the lame in the desired direction. Soon, they were at the venue, and happily partaking of the royal spread.
My Teacher would say that a devotee becomes an adept when there is a mixture of worship and love. A devotee who is only strong in worship is like the blind man – his strong body can move, but it does not know where to go.
Those devotees who have love in their heart, but make no move to take up practice as taught, are lame—they can see where they want to go, and but cannot move.
But when worship is practiced with love, His abode is so close.