THE SEARCH
One day Hoja Naziruddin was found searching for something in
every nook and corner of the village market. He had been there from the morning
hours. Now it was nearing dusk. Still he continued the search.
Hoja was always known for his eccentricities. So others did
not bother about him initially. Then a few among them thought if he was so
frantically searching for something from morning till evening, it should be
something really valuable. They too would join the search and help him find the
thing and perhaps would be rewarded for their efforts. So some of them
approached him and asked him what he was searching.
He said it was a key he was
looking for. He told them the size and shape of the key. Soon they also joined
him. The group went around the market, looking everywhere and leaving nothing
to chance. Even after a lot of effort, the key could not be traced. Somebody
asked Hoja if he was certain that he lost the key at the market. He replied
that he was not that certain about it, the key could have been lost at his
house too.
Hearing Hoja`s reply , the searchers got really frustrated.
One of them asked him, why he was looking for a key in the marketplace, if he
had lost it, at his own house. Hoja was nonchalant. He retorted that God is
present in ourselves. But most people look for God in places of worship, be it
a church or mosque. If so , he could as well
look for the key he has lost in his house, at the market place too.