The Chapati Miracle

A woman baked chapatti (bread) for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra chapatti on the window sill, for whosoever would take it away. Every day, a beggar came and took away the chapatti. He would express no gratitude but would muttered : “The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!” This went on, day after day. Every day, he came, picked up the chapatti and uttered the words:

“The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!” The woman felt irritated. “Not a word of gratitude,” she said to herself… “Everyday this beggar utters this jingle! What does he mean?” 

One day, exasperated, she decided to get rid of him forever” she said. She added poison to the chapatti she prepared for him!

As she was about to keep it on the window sill, her hands trembled. She realized her terrible mistake .“What is this I am doing?” she said. She threw the chapatti into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window sill. As usual, the beggar came, picked up the chapatti and muttered his daily words: “The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!”

The beggar proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of what had happened . Every day, as the woman placed the chapatti on the window sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many months, she had no news of him.

That very evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway. He had grown thin and lean. His garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak. As he saw his mother, he said, “Mom, it’s a miracle I’m here. While I was but a mile away, I felt so weak that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old beggar passed by. I begged of him for a some of food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole chapatti. As he gave it to me, he said, “This is what I eat everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!”

Hearing these words , the mother’s face turned pale. She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned chapatti that she had made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost his life!

It was then that she realized the significance of the words: 

“The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!” 

Do good and Don’t ever stop doing good, even if it is not appreciated at that time.