"A man wanted a smoke. He went to a neighbour's house to light his charcoal. It was the dead of night and the household was asleep. After he had knocked a great deal, someone came down to open the door. At sight of the man he asked, 'Hello!... What's the matter?'
The man replied: 'Can't you guess? You know how fond I am of smoking. I have come here to light my charcoal.' The neighbour said: 'Ha! Ha! You are a fine man indeed! You took the trouble to come and do all this knocking at the door! Why, you have a lighted lantern in your hand!' .

"What a man seeks is very near him. Still he wanders about from place to place.

( "Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" )

In ancient India there lived a certain wise king. One day a pandit (scholar and teacher) who had studied many scriptures and holy books came to the palace and asked to see the king.
"Your Majesty," said he, "I should like it very much if you would permit me to teach you the Bhagavatam, the holy scripture on the life of Sri Krishna. I will not require an unreasonable fee." Now the king, a good judge of human nature, knew enough of that great book to realize that the pandit, scholar that he was, still had not understood what it says. Otherwise, why would he be coming to a king's palace in search of wealth instead of seeking for the Lord in the depths of his own heart.

He said to the pandit: "I perceive that you have not fully mastered the Bhagavatam as yet. I will make you my tutor only when you have learned it well." As he went on his way the scholar thought to himself, "Why, I've been studying the book over and over all these years. How foolish the king is to say that I have not mastered it!" Yet a seed of doubt had been sown in his mind. He carefully read the book again and again he applied to the king. This time the king repeated the same thing.
Mightily puzzled, the pandit reached home and shut himself in his room. He pored over the holy book day and night, and gradually the truth began to dawn on him. Then he began to see his own vanity and greed for the riches and courts of kings, and also for his own fame. Now he applied himself entirely to the worship of God and never thought once of returning to the king.

After a few years the king became curious and paid a visit to the pandit's house. There he found a changed man, radiant with divine light and love. The king fell on his knees. "I see," he said, "that you have now realized the true meaning of the Bhagavatam. I am ready to be your disciple if you will teach me."

from 'Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna'

Four blind men went to see an elephant. One touched the leg of the elephant, and said, "The elephant is like a pillar." The second touched the trunk, and said, "The elephant is like a thick stick or club." The third touched the belly, and said, "The elephant is like a big jar." The fourth touched the ears, and said, "The elephant is like a winnowing basket." Thus they began to dispute amongst themselves as to the figure of the elephant. A passer-by seeing them thus quarrelling, said, "What is it that you are disputing about?" They told him everything, and asked him to arbitrate. That man said, "None of you has seen the elephant. The elephant is not like a pillar, its legs are like pillars. It is not like a big water-vessel, its belly is like a water-vessel. It is not like a winnowing basket, its ears are like winnowing baskets. It is not like a thick stick or club, but its proboscis is like that. The elephant is the combination of all these." In the same manner those quarrel who have seen one aspect only of the Deity.