One day Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe, wished to meet Lord Vishnu, the lord who resides in every atom and in every universe as the maintainer.

Lord Brahma stood at the glittering gates of Vaikuntha, the grand personal quarters of Lord Vishnu. The guards on duty asked him to wait for a brief moment as they announced his visit to their lord. They were back very quickly and said, “Lord Vishnu asked, which Brahma has come?”

Lord Brahma was taken aback with the question. “Which Brahma?” he said with mounting indignation, “which Brahma? Tell him the four-headed Brahma has come.”

The guards went back inside to deliver the answer and soon invited Lord Brahma to come in. As soon as he entered the inner quarters, Lord Brahma was shocked to see a most unexpected sight. Inside the chamber there were many other Brahmas; one with eight heads, another with a 100 heads, another with a 1000 heads and even one with 10,000 heads. They had also come to visit Lord Vishnu.

The four-headed Lord Brahma felt utterly humbled to see so many other Brahmas. He always felt he was the unique and most powerful creator of the universe. He had thought his four heads showed how clever he was. He hadn’t realised there were so many other universes even larger than his, created by even more powerful Brahmas. With a new sense of humility, respect and appreciation, he bowed and conducted his visit.

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