Shiva had heard of a powerful sadhu and decided to test him. Disguised as a traveler, he visited the sadhu.
While they were conversing, an elephant walked by.
"Can you kill that elephant?" asked Shiva.
"I can!" said the sadhu. He recited a mantra, whereupon the elephant staggered and fell down dead.
"And can you revive the elephant?"
"I can!" The sadhu grabbed a handful of dust, whispered another mantra over the dust, and the elephant sprang back to life.
"You kill, you revive," said Shiva, revealing his true form, "but what wisdom does this bring?"
And then, Shiva vanished.
Inspired by: Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna
Notes: This is story 40 in the book. You can read more about the god Shiva and about the sadhus of India at Wikipedia.
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