The lantern

There are said to be 500,000 villages in India.

In olden days, the Indian village hired a night-watchman to keep down crime and accidents. He would go around the streets and lanes with a square metal lantern, open only at the front.

The watchman could see, wherever the lantern cast its light. No rays of light fell on him, who carried the lantern. If you wanted to see who the watchman was, you had to ask him to turn the lamp back on his own face.

We are like that! Our eyes (ears, tongue, etc.) are all facing outward, looking at and feeling the things of the world.

God says, "if you want to see me, turn the lamp around; look within and find the Source of all the light." - As told by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa