Strange Power of Honesty
Nirmal was a handsome young man. With his hard and honest work, he won the praises of everyone in the village. Of course, he won Nilima's heart for other reasons. Everyone was ready to dole out a lot of good words, but, no one was ready to part with sufficient money for the work that Nirmal did for them. But he, in his youthful exuberance, did not mind it much. He thought that one day, in times of need, he could always cash in on the goodwill he created amongst the village people. What was more urgent to him was his marriage. Sensing the eagerness of the couple who wanted to get married, Nilima's father, Vishalji, one day called home Nirmal and told him: "I will be very glad to give you my daughter's hand in marriage. But, how will you maintain her? Earn some money and a couple of acres of paddy land and then come back to me." As Nirmal was going out of the house, a little downhearted, Nilima called him aside and said, "Don't be disappointed. It is easy to please my father. Just present him a gold-bordered dress and you'll be able to win his heart." Confident of getting the favor, Nirmal approached Ghanshyam, the cloth merchant, and asked him for the dress, "I have it ready, but, it will cost you ten silver coins. Have you brought the money?" asked the merchant. It was like a slap on his face. He approached several people for a loan, but no one was ready to advance him any money.
Nirmal was disillusioned. However, goaded and encouraged by Nilima, Nirmal worked harder, skipped several meals, and ultimately, at the end of one full month, he saved ten silver coins and gave them to Ghanshyam. Vishalji was overjoyed with the gift of the gold-bordered dress. He was convinced that Nirmal was a hard worker and he'll be able to keep his daughter happy. He agreed to waive off his condition and to make him son-in-law at the earliest auspicious date. In the meantime, a strange thing happened in the village. Ghanshyam's two-year-old son took ill and no doctor was able to cure him. In fact, everyone lost hope even of his survival. Helpless, the father ultimately approached a yogi and prayed to him to save his son. The yogi visited his house, patted the child on the forehead, and then said, "The child will not die. Give him this medicine immediately and by tomorrow morning he'll be all right." Then he left Ghanshyam's house. The whole day and the night passed, but there was no difference in the child who was in a deep coma.
Anxiety gave way to fear and early next morning Ghanshyam rushed to the yogi once again and told him of the child's condition. "Don't worry" assured the yogi. "The Deity requires an offering. Give her whatever you can," advised the wise man. The merchant returned with offerings of gold and silver and placed them in front of the yogi. "Take them away, take them away please," shouted the yogi as soon as he touched the ornaments. "All this is wealth earned by cheating and duping people. The Deity will not take this dishonest money. If you can bring me even ten silver coins earned honestly by someone, your offering will be accepted and your son will be saved," said the yogi, calming down a bit. The merchant rushed to his shop, pulled out the cash box, and went back to the yogi. "Here is all the money that people had given me. I cannot differentiate between the honestly earned and the dishonestly earned money. It is for you to discover." After discarding many coins the yogi picked out a bundle that contained exactly ten coins of silver. As soon as he offered them to the Deity, the young son of Ghanshyam woke up from his coma and sat up on the bed smiling, as if nothing ever had happened to him. "Who gave you these coins?" asked the yogi. "They were given to me by a young man from our village. Nirmal," said the merchant. "It is strange that in this big village, Nirmal is the only honest worker," commented the yogi. News spread that Ghanshyam's son was cured by a miracle done by the yogi. And people thronged to him for cures.
The first one to reach him was the village headman, whose son was suffering from a strange illness for many years. The same procedure, that was used in Ghanshyam's son's case, was repeated. Once again it was found that the little savings that Nirmal had deposited with the headman towards the purchase of an acre of land, became effective in curing the headman's son. The yogi then told the people, "Your village is beset with various illnesses because you are all living a life of self-deceit and corruption. Is it not a shame that in so big a village there should be only one man who earned every coin through honest labor alone? I should not be surprised if your village is destroyed by a plague once Nirmal decides to leave it!" Overnight Nirmal became the center of attention and respect. The headman and the village business community pooled together a lot of money and with it they performed not only the marriage ceremony of Nirmal and Nilima but also gifted them a lovely little house and two acres of land. This was how they chose to atone for their past ill-treatment of the young man and also to show their gratitude for saving the village by his honesty and integrity. Nirmal and Nilima worked hard in their field and lived for long years leading a happy life of honesty and goodwill for all.
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