There was once a brahmin. He was a sincere devotee of the Lord. Every Poonam, he would walk to Dwarka and have darshan of Lord Krishna in the temple there.
One Poonam, a rich sheth gave the Brahmin a basketful of one hundred mangoes, saying he should offer the mangoes on his behalf to the Lord’s murti in the temple. The road to Dwarka was long and hard, the brahmin became tired and hungry and so, with the Lords image in his mind, he ate a juicy ripe mango. One mango followed another. By the time he got to the temple gates, he had eaten nine-nine mangos. Only one remained in the basket!
The brahmin placed the remaining mango before the image of the Lord Krishna, devoutly offered his prayers and began walking home. The temple pujari was greedy and was watching from behind a pillar. He took the mango into a corner and ate it quickly !
That night the Lord appeared in a dream to the sheth and said, “Of the one hundred mangos you sent with the Brahmin, I’ve received ninety-nine. One mango I haven’t received…..”
When the Brahmin returned home, the sheth called for him. He was quite upset. “Bhagat, the Lord appeared to me in a dream and said how he has received only ninety-nine mangos. Good man, for only one mango you let your mind play with you. And now my wish to offer the Lord fully one hundred mangos remains unfulfilled….”
The Brahmin was listening quietly all the while. When the sheth had finished his scolding, he said, “Sheth, to tell you the truth, I myself ate ninety-nine mangos, and the temple pujari ate the remaining one that I offered to the Lord.”
The sheth was amazed. Then what of the Lord’s words. He thought everything over. The truth slowly dawned on him. The brahmin he had sent the mangos with was a true devotee of Lord Krishna. He had mentally offered them to the Lord first, then eaten them. The Lord accepted the mangos although the brahmin ate them. The one remaining mango was eaten by the temple pujari in secret, without the slightest thought of the Lord.
Moral of the Story:
A true sadhu or devotee always has the Lord foremost in their Mind and Heart. So, one who serves a true sadhu or devotee is really serving the Lord himself.