Chokhamela - The Swollen Cheek

Dadi: "Guddu, I want to tell you another story about Sant Chokhamela. This one shows how close he was to God."

Guddu: "The untouchable saint from Pandharpur?"

Dadi: "You remember! Yes. Chokhamela couldn't enter the temple, so he worshipped Lord Vitthal from his hut across the river. But here's the secret - God loved him so much that He would visit Chokhamela every day for lunch!"

Guddu: "Every single day?"

Dadi: "Every day. Chokhamela's wife Soyarabai would serve food to both her husband and God. They ate together like old friends."

Guddu: "That's amazing! But the priests didn't know?"

Dadi: "They couldn't see God. Their hearts weren't pure enough. But listen to what happened one day."

Chokhamela and Lord Vitthal were eating, and Soyarabai was serving them. She accidentally spilled some curd on God's yellow silk cloth.

Guddu: "Oops!"

Dadi: "Chokhamela said, "Oh Soyara, you've soiled Vitthal's pitambar!""

Right at that moment, a temple priest was walking past the hut. He couldn't see God sitting there. All he heard was "Vitthal's pitambar" - and he thought Chokhamela was mocking HIM!

Guddu: "Why would he think that?"

Dadi: "The priest wore yellow cloth too. And he was arrogant - he thought an "untouchable" was insulting him. In a rage, he slapped Chokhamela hard across the face."

Guddu: "That's terrible!"

Dadi: "Then the priest went to the river to "purify" himself for touching an untouchable. After that, he went to the temple for morning worship."

When he opened the temple doors, he froze.

Guddu: "What did he see?"

Dadi: "Lord Vitthal's statue had tears streaming down its cheeks. And one cheek was red and swollen - exactly where the priest had slapped Chokhamela."

Guddu: "God felt the slap?!"

Dadi: "The very same slap. When you hurt someone God loves, you hurt God himself. The priest realized what he had done. He had struck a devotee - and the mark appeared on God's own face."

Guddu: "Did he apologize?"

Dadi: "He fell to his knees. The whole temple learned that day what true devotion means. Chokhamela, whom they had treated as unworthy, was so close to God that they shared the same pain."

Guddu: "So God and Chokhamela were like... the same?"

Dadi: "In the eyes of pure love, yes. When you love someone completely, their joys become your joys. Their sorrows become your sorrows. God felt Chokhamela's humiliation as His own."

Guddu: "That's so deep, Dadi."

Dadi: "The story teaches us to be careful how we treat others. You never know whose face holds the face of God. Every person you meet - rich or poor, high or low - might be beloved to the Divine."

Guddu: "Like when I'm mean to my sister?"

Dadi: "Exactly. What if God feels that too? How would you want to make Him feel?"

Guddu: "I'll try to be kinder, Dadi."

Dadi: "That's the spirit of Chokhamela. His body was considered "polluted" by society, but his heart was so pure that God wouldn't leave his side. And when he died, his bones still chanted "Vitthal, Vitthal" - loving God even beyond death."

Guddu: "Wow. That's what real love looks like."

Dadi: "Real love, beta. The kind that no slap can break."