On an island, at the mouth of the Dvian river in Russia, there lived three old hermits. They were simple men who were unaware of the customs of the church. The only prayer they said was "We are three. Thou art three. Have mercy on us!"
Though simple, this prayer of the hermits brought about many miracles.
The news of this simple prayer and the miracles it manifested spread far and wide and a bishop in a neighbouring island came to hear about the three hermits and their prayer. The bishop felt that the hermits' prayer was too naive and it could not be permitted. So, he decided to meet the hermits and teach them the invocations that were prescribed by the church.
One day, the bishop set sail for the island where the hermits lived. He met the hermits and told them that their prayer was too simple and undignified. They needed to learn to address God with grand words. The bishop taught the hermits the customary prayers like "Father, Thou art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name Give us our daily bread …….". The humble hermits accepted the bishop's advice and learnt the prayers he taught them.
Happy that he had educated the three simple men on how to pray, the bishop left the island on his ship. No sooner did his ship leave the shore than he saw a radiant light following his ship As the light approached his ship, he discerned that it was none other than the three hermits who were holding hands and running on the water. They were trying to reach his ship. What did they want? "Oh, revered one, we have forgotten the prayers you taught us," they cried as they reached the bishop, "and we have hastened to ask you to repeat them. Please teach us the prayers once again."
But the bishop was dumbfounded by the sight of the three men running on the water. He shook his head and humbly answered: "Dear ones, continue to live with your old prayer!"
"A short story of Leo Tolstoy taken from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda".
