While Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan was staying in the village of Loya, a traveling puppeteer (Nayak) arrived, hoping to showcase his mastery before the Lord and the great assembly of saints. He was a proud artist, confident that his skill with the strings could bring his wooden figures to life and mesmerize any audience.
As the performance began, a large crowd gathered. The puppeteer stood behind his curtain and began to pull the strings with practiced precision. However, a strange thing happened: the puppets remained completely motionless. No matter how much the puppeteer yanked the cords or adjusted his technique, the figures refused to dance. They hung limp and lifeless, as if the very laws of motion had been suspended.
The puppeteer grew frantic. He checked his equipment, rearranged the strings, and tried every trick in his repertoire, but the stage remained silent and still. He became deeply discouraged, unable to understand why his lifelong craft had suddenly failed him.
Throughout this struggle, Shree Hari sat on His decorated seat, watching the man with a divine, knowing smile. He held a small handkerchief over His mouth to hide His amusement as He watched the puppeteer’s confusion. Eventually, the strings became so hopelessly tangled that the man had to stop entirely.
Seeing the puppeteer’s despair, Shree Hari spoke words of encouragement to give him heart, saying, “Your show is truly wonderful; we and all the saints have witnessed it.”
The puppeteer, however, was struck with realization. He bowed before Shree Hari and exclaimed, “Today, a great miracle has occurred! Such a thing has never happened in all my years. Why is it that not a single puppet would move?”
Through this simple yet profound episode, Shree Hari revealed a deep spiritual truth to those present: just as the puppets could not move without the will of the master behind the curtain, no soul or element in existence can act without the inner guidance and will of the Supreme Lord. He is the ultimate “string-puller” of the cosmos, and even the smallest movement is subject to His divine grace.
This prasang has been documented by Sadguru Shree Adharanand Swami in Pur 24, Tarang 31 of Shree Haricharitramrut Sagar.