Shiva and Shakti, the Divine Couple in Hinduism, are in their heavenly abode watching over the earth. They are touched by the challenges of human life, the complexity of human reactions, and the ever-present place of suffering in the human experience. As they watch, Shakti spies a miserably poor woman walking down the road. Her clothes are shabby and her sandals are tied together with rope. Her heart is wrung with compassion. Touched by her goodness and her struggle, Shakti turns to her divine husband and begs him to give this woman some gold. Shiva looks at the woman for a long moment. “My Dearest Wife,” he says, “I cannot do that.” Shakti is astounded. “Why, what do you mean, Husband? You are Lord of the Universe. Why can’t you do this simple thing?”

     “I cannot give this to her because she is not yet ready to receive it,” Shiva replies. Shakti becomes angry. “Do you mean to say that you cannot drop a bag of gold in her path?”

     “Surely I can,” Shiva replies, “but that is quite another thing.”

     “Please, Husband,” says Shakti.

     And so Shiva drops a bag of gold in the woman’s path.

     The woman meanwhile walks along thinking to herself, “I wonder if I will find dinner tonight – or shall I go hungry again?” Turning a bend in the road, she sees something on the path in her way. “Aha,” she says. “Look there, a large rock. How fortunate that I have seen it. I might have torn these poor sandals of mine even further.” And carefully stepping over the bag of gold, she goes on her way.