When a spoiled young man who was pampered by his parents once overslept in his bolted and shuttered room, his family gathered outside to awaken him. Inside his room it was dark, so he yelled out, “Why are you waking me in the middle of the night? It’s time to sleep!”

The family called back, “Night has passed long ago. It’s almost mid-day! The sun is shining high in the sky.”

The young man replied, “If the sun is so bright, let it shine into this room. Then I’ll know it is day.”

The family called back, “Open the door to get light on your floor!”

—–

This story is used to answer those who say that only foolish people say God is merciful. God shows no mercy on the world, because it is such a terrible place. But the answer is, the suffering materialists live in darkness by their own refusal to open their lives up to the sun-like mercy of Krsna.