Rameshwar Bhatt of Vilasgarh was a famous physician. One day a messenger from a distant village named Jasimpur met him and requested him to pay a visit to his village. It was because Bhola Das, the wealthy merchant of the village, had fallen sick.
Bhatt promised to visit Jasimpur the next day and sent the messenger away.
He set out for Jasimpur in the morning. He was tired of walking and sat down on the verandah of a hut. A woman came out and asked him if he needed anything. He wanted to drink a glass of water.
As he sat there, the woman told him her story. Her husband, Sudhir, worked very hard, but misfortunes, one after
another, had reduced them to utter poverty. Two years ago their crop was destroyed by a flood. Last year their house was burgled. This year, the thatch under which they had stored their grain caught fire!
Bhatt sympathized with her and then resumed his journey.
He reached the merchant’s house at Jasimpur late in the afternoon. He examined his patient with great care and began giving him medicines. At the request of the merchant, he agreed to stay on there till the patient showed signs of recovery. But there was no improvement in the patient’s condition even on the third day. The patient said, “Bhattji, I have never done a good deed in my life. I’m afraid, I shall be dumped in hell as soon as I die!”
It struck Bhatt that the patient will not recover unless he is tired of his fear of hell. “My friend, I will make you perform such a good deed that you will surely be saved from hell.” He then told him the plight of Sudhir and his wife.
The merchant sent one of his servants to call Sudhir. When Sudhir came, the merchant gave him enough money to liquidate his debts and construct a new house.
Sudhir left with great satisfaction. Thereafter the merchant’s condition began to improve. The physician took leave of him.
Three years passed. One day a man called upon him. “I’m sent to you by Sudhir the holy beggar,” said the man.
“Sudhir the holy beggar? Who is he?” asked Bhatt.
“Haven’t you heard of him? The one by giving alms to whom people are cured of their ailments!” said the man.
Bhatt did not understand what he said. He asked, “What does he want of me?”
“He is sick himself,” said the man.
Bhatt set out for the patient’s house, led by the messenger. By noon they reached their destination. It was a fine house. It did not take long for Bhatt to recognize the lady who greeted him in front of the house. She was the one whose misfortunes had moved him to get a donation for her husband from the merchant.
The lady led him into a corner of the verandah and told him in private what Sudhir, her husband had done during the last three years.
The news of the merchant being cured of his illness by giving a donation to Sudhir spread in the area. Many people wondered: we too have given alms to beggars, but we do not get such swift results out of our piety! Sudhir must be a Special man. Sick people began to call Sudhir and give him alms.
Sudhir found it very rewarding. He boasted of his special virtues, “Giving me alms is equal to giving alms to a thousand!” he claimed. He stopped labouring in the fields. His wife did not like this. But what could she do? Sudhir became known as the holy beggar.
Bhatt heard everything before meeting the patient. Sudhir sat up in his bed at the sight of the physician and greeted him. “Sir, once the merchant was ill and you made him give me alms and he was cured. Kindly find a man to receive alms from me so that I shall be cured,” said Sudhir.
“No such man can be found for you!” said Bhatt in a stern voice.
“Why sir?” asked Sudhir, feeling scared.
“For a donation or alms to be effective, it must have been earned by the donor with his labour. You have accumulated money through deception. You have no right to expect any benefit from giving alms!” said Bhatt.
“Then, what am I to do?” asked Sudhir.
“I will give you some medicine. But it will work only if you promise to stop begging. You are no longer needy, When anybody proposes to give you alms, direct him to the most needy man you know. You must labour and live,” said Bhatt.
Sudhir repented for what he had done and promised to change his lifestyle. The physician started treating him.
