A Vaishnav went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.

As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.

They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of Krishna, the barber said: “I don’t believe that Krishna exists.”

” Why do you say that?”asked the Vaishnav.

“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that Krishna doesn’t exist.
Tell me, if Krishna exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If Krishna existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. You say Krishna is loving, then how can He allow all of these things? This means He doesn’t exist. Logic.”

The Vaishnav thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the Vaishnav left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept.

The Vaishnav turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”

” How can you say that?”asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”

“No!” the Vaishnav exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”

“Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me.”

“Exactly !”- affirmed the Vaishnav. “That’s the point! Krishna, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”