Brewing Coffee

A holy man was living in a temple. Nearby was the house of a harlot. Noticing how men were frequenting her house for her service, he called the woman and warned her against the evil ways.

She lamented over her lot and prayed to the Lord for forgiveness although she could not put an end to her base profession.

The annoyed holy man now started recording her lapses by piling a pebble every time a libertine visited her. When the heap of pebbles grew large, the holy man summoned the prostitute to his presence and censured her severely pointing out to her the pyramid-like enormity of her sins.

The heart-broken woman died that very night appealing to the Almighty for deliverance from the tainted body. Strangely enough, that very night the holy man also departed.

The body of the former was cast away as food to vultures and jackals; but that of the latter was buried with due honours.

However, the development of this scene was quite different in Netherworld. The soul of the prostitute was escorted to heaven while that of the holy man was consigned to hell.

The excited holy man demanded an explanation for this injustice. The reply came that inviolable justice alone prevailed in the creation of the Lord. Although living in a polluted body, the prostitute's mind was ever fixed on the Divine, whereas the mind of the holy man was always wandering on unholy concerns. While the earthly remains of both were fittingly disposed, their souls as well were assigned their fitting regions.

Reputation is what the world thinks a man is; character is what he really is.

The Holy Man and the Harlot