A monk constantly rebuked a prostitute who lived near the temple. He put a pebble in a heap for each client who visited her. "Behold your wicked deeds!" he would say, pointing to the heap.
The woman prayed constantly to God for forgiveness. When she died, her spirit ascended to heaven. When the monk died, his spirit descended to hell.
"You never sinned with your body," God explained, "so you received a fine funeral, while vultures gnawed the prostitute's body. But your spirit was cruel, while she was faithful in spirit. You were the real prostitute at heart, not she."
Inspired by: Tales and Parables of Sri Ramakrishna
Notes: This is story 197 in the book. The story invokes God as Vishnu, and it is the "messengers of Vishnu" who explain to the monk what has happened in death. For more about Vishnu and the netherworld of Patala, see Wikipedia.
No comments:
Post a Comment