Saint Pundalik of Pandharpur was an ardent devotee of Bhagwan Vithal, fondly known as Vithoba. Once when Pundalik was serving his old, feeble parents, Vithal, pleased by his devotion to his parents, visited his humble home. Pundalik saw Vithal waiting at the door and politely asked him to wait, and that he would attend to him once he was done serving his parents. Pundalik then threw a brick near the door and asked Vithal Bhagwan to stand on it as a mark of respect.
Tradition has it that the lotus feet of the Divine are not supposed to touch the soiled ground. It is said in the Mahabharat that the feet of the eldest of the Pandavas, Yudhishtir, Dharmaraj, remained two inches above the ground due to his perfection in dharma.
Vithoba stood on the brick, waiting for Pundalik to finish his essential chores. Many of Vithoba’s murtis show this image. In business, we say time is money and that every second counts. Can one calculate the value of time of the Divine who runs the whole universe? And, yet, there he was, Lord of the Universe, waiting for his bhakta. This shows that God accords the highest importance to serving one’s parents and that he truly cares for his devotees who are pure at heart.
