STO-117 – the Beggar meets God (time)
This story is about how we cannot trick God and the laws of nature . . .
Mohan was a professional beggar, and extremely cunning. He never missed any opportunity to line his own pocket.
One day Mohan was walking in the woods near his home. As he turned a corner he was surprised to bump into…God. He wasn’t a nervous man, but was somewhat taken aback. The two exchanged a few pleasantries about how the weather could have been better, the cause of the recent heavy monsoon, and so on. As they chatted, Mohan had one of his brainwaves – and it was a good one! So he thought . . .
Placing together his palms, as if in awe and reverence (for Mohan was somewhat religious), he said:
‘Tell me, Lord, is it true that one of your moments is many aeons?’
‘Yes it is true’, resounded the reply.
‘And tell me, my Lord, is it true that one of your pennies is billions of pounds?’
‘Yes it is true’, came the grave reply.
Mohan was exalted. ‘Tell you what, my dear Lord’, he continued, ‘I really could use a cup of tea. Could you spare me a penny?’
God paused thoughtfully and then patted his pockets.
‘Sorry, nothing on me at the moment. I’ll go fetch my wallet. Hang on a moment’.
And with that he vanished . . .