B.G. 03.03 : Yogi Cobbler and Gyani Brahmana

Narada Muni, who was once asked by a brahmana: “Oh, you are going to meet the Lord? Will you please ask Him when I'm going to get my salvation?”

“All right,” Narada agreed. “I shall ask Him.” 

As Narada proceeded, he met a cobbler who was sitting under a tree mending shoes, and the cobbler similarly asked Narada, “Oh, you are going to see God? Will you please inquire of Him when my salvation will come?”

When Narada Muni went to the Vaikuntha planets, he fulfilled their request and asked Narayana (God) about the salvation of the brahmana and the cobbler, and Narayana replied, “After leaving this body, the cobbler shall come here to me.” “What about the brahmana?” Narada asked. “He will have to remain there for a number of births. I do not know when he is coming.” Narada Muni was astonished, and he finally said, “I can't understand the mystery of this” “That you will see,” Narayana said. “When they ask you what I am doing in My abode, tell them that I am threading the eye of a needle with an elephant.”

 When Narada returned to earth and approached the brahmana, the brahmana said, “Oh, you have seen the Lord? What was He doing?” “He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle,” Narada answered. “I don't believe such nonsense,” the brahmana replied. Narada could immediately understand that the man had no faith and that he was simply a reader of books. Narada then left and went on to the cobbler, who asked him, “Oh, you have seen the Lord? Tell me, what was He doing?” “He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle,” Narada replied. The cobbler began to weep, “Oh, my Lord is so wonderful, He can do anything.”

 “Do you really believe that the Lord can push an elephant through the hole of a needle? ” Narada asked. “Why not?”  the cobbler said, “Of course I believe it.” “How is that?” Narada asked. “You can see that I am sitting under this banyan tree,” the cobbler answered, “and you can see that so many fruits are falling daily, and in each seed there is a banyan tree like this one. If, within a small seed there can be a big tree like this, is it difficult to accept that the Lord is pushing an elephant through the eye of a needle?”

B.G 3.3

loke ’smin dvi-vidhā niṣṭhā
purā proktā mayānagha
jñāna-yogena sāṅkhyānāṁ
karma-yogena yoginām

Translation:

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes of men who try to realize the self. Some are inclined to understand it by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others by devotional service.

The cobbler was linking his simple work to devotion of God and had high realizations of God whereas Brahmana although engaged directly in acts of studies of vedas and acts of worship yet could not connect it to devotion of God and thus lacked faith and understanding of powers of God. 

References:

1. http://www.speakingtree.in/blog/threading-an-elephant-through-the-eye-of-a-needle

2. www.iskcondesiretree.com