On the dusty streets of Pushkar, India, a few men stop for a smoke. When an old woman asks for a rupee to buy lunch, they promptly refuse and walk away. Eyes on their backs, the woman observes, "These young men will burn more than a rupee for their bad habit, but will never give a rupee to a hungry person." With her words echoing in his ears, one man returns to offer her two rupees. An hour later, he finds the same beggar under a tree feeding a young girl in torn dress. "Amma, who is that girl?" he asks. "She couldn't arrange a rupee today, so I have brought lunch for her out of the money you gave for dinner. Don't worry, God will arrange for my dinner." Astonished at her generosity, he reflects, "I got the strength to quit the [smoking] habit in that moment. No 'statuary warning' on the packet could teach me the lesson that the beggar woman did that day," he remarks.
