The Saint and a Thief

In my childhood, I heard a story from my grandmother.
Once upon a time, there was a great saint who used to walk through the villages teaching Vedantic philosophy and helping needy people. As it was the tradition in the olden days, people would respectfully offer him food and a place to stay overnight or for a couple of days.
On one occasion, he had to choose between staying in the home of a scholarly Brahman or the home of a thief. 
He chose to stay in the home of the thief.
Everyone was surprised and asked why he chose the home of a thief over the home of a well-respected scholar from an upper class. 
The Saint replied: 
Undoubtedly, the learned Brahman is a great scholar, but he also has a huge ego, and wherever there is ego, there's no room for God. 
On the other hand, I found that the thief was very humble and remorseful. Even though he steals, which is wrong, I felt he was better because he is repentant and wants to mend his ways. He is willing to learn how to improve his life. Since he has no ego, he has the room for learning. 
But a person who thinks he has all the answers - does not feel the need to change or to learn anything new. 

This story has always been one of my favorites - because it illustrates an important lesson for those who want to travel on the path of Spirituality. 
Knowing everything is not a prerequisite for gaining wisdom - or a requirement for living a spiritual life. 
If we think that we have all the answers - if we believe that we have all the spiritual knowledge that there is - then obviously we have not learned the meaning of Spirituality. 
To become a Lighthouse - or a vessel - a container of Light - we have to become humble. 
We must get rid of our ego. 
We must recognize that in some way, every person in our life is a messenger of Light.
But it would only be possible if we are open to listening to everyone. 
However, listening to everyone does not mean that we have to agree with everything and follow everyone else. 
We must use our wisdom, judgment, and logic to see what is right or wrong and proceed accordingly. 
If we believe that God gave us everything for a reason, then He must have given us a brain for a reason too - to think. 
He provided us the faculty of choosing and the ability to make decisions as well. 
Now, it is our responsibility to use this faculty carefully and wisely. 
Surrendering the mind means - instead of stubbornly holding on to our procured concepts - we should be willing to listen to the fresh ideas - the views of the wise, and enlightened people - to learn and adapt from their experience to enrich our lives. 
But at the same time, we must remember to stay humble and polite - and keep a watch on ourselves not to accumulate ego in this process.
                                    ' Rajan Sachdeva '