By G. L. Krishna
An introspective involvement with the sensate is often the gateway to the spiritual. Feeling the ugliness of evil is perhaps the surest way to get rid of it. Here is the story of a prostitute whose life exemplified this truth. Krishna narrates it to his beloved friend Uddhava in the Bhagavata.
Pingala spent her evenings looking for mates in the busy streets of Videha. "Ah...he's my amour," she would think, casting longing glances at handsome passers-by. Whenever someone got enticed, she would spiritedly chase him - only to discover, at the end of the liaison, that the experience was superficial and unfulfilling. "Had, having, and in quest to have extreme," she would thus chase man after man.
One fine evening, a strange weariness came over her. She had grown tired of endlessly looking for the right man - a man who would satisfy her needs of both love and money. The search was tiring, but so were superficial liaisons. Coupled with the weariness was remorse about the life she had lived.
