Who Does God Worship?

Here's a story my guru Swami Satchidananda used to tell:

Once Lord Vishnu was walking around the palace carrying a small wooden box, looking into it with great interest and holding it very closely, like a precious treasure, again and again peering in very closely, even reverently. His wife Lakshmi saw his going about like that and became curious. "What's in the box, dear?” she asked.

"Oh nothing, nothing," he said and quickly hid it behind his back. But she saw him do that and got up and came over.

"Come on now, what's in that box, honey?"

"Nothing at all to concern yourself with," said Lord Vishnu. But then he looked in the box again very closely.

"Okay, give it to me," demanded his wife, putting her hand out.

"No, no," said Vishnu. But after all, Lakshmi is the Goddess. So she simply reached over and took it out of his hands.

He stood still and watched her. Lakshmi opened the box and peered inside.

Nothing. She couldn't see anything. She peered very closely. Then she said, "Why there's nothing in here but some dust." And she leaned close pursing her lips to blow it out.

"No, stop!" cried Vishnu. She froze. Gently he took the box from her hands and held it before her. "See, this is dust from my devotees' feet," he said. "It's the most precious of all that I have."

“Look at that,” said Gurudev, “the Lord worshipping the dust of his devotees' feet. That shows you how precious to God is your devotion.”