Once a priest was on a voyage. The ship anchored on an isolated and seemingly deserted island for some time. The benevolent priest decided to look around for people who may be in need of right direction. He came across three persons. They greeted the priest. The kind priest asked them:

Priest: Do you gentlemen believe in God?

First Person:  Yes Sir, we do.

Priest: Do you offer God Prayers?

Second: Of course we do.

Priest: So, how do you pray?

Third: Simple. We raise our hand towards sky and pray to the almighty – O almighty, we are three and you are thee. O divine three, protect the three of us.

Priest (laughs):  What sort of prayer is this? This is not the right way to pray.

The three were perplexed and they requested the priest to guide them. The kind priest agreed and explained the right rituals as per his religious beliefs. The three islanders thanked the priest again and again. They offered him fruits as gifts and went to the shore to say bye to the priest.

They priest set on his onward journey and they continued to wave him from the shore as long as they could see the departing ship.

A week later

The priest was still on his journey. After finishing his worship, the priest was strolling on the deck of the ship when he saw the three islander standing on the deck, panting heavily and waiting for the priest. Once they saw the priest in front of them. They ran to the priest and said:

Islanders: O kind priest. We made a great mistake. You taught us the right way to pray but we forgot it that very night. Kindly teach us again and we promise not to repeat our mistake.

Priest (Surprised and confused): That is fine. I can teach you again. But how you managed to come on board? I remember leaving you on the island a week back.

Islanders: Very true, Sir. By the time we realised that we have forgotten your teaching, your ship had already gone far off. So we raised our hand in towards the sky the usual way and said:

O mighty three. The kind priest taught us the right way to pray and foolishly we forgot it. Now we are keen to learn again. We want to meet the priest. We are ready to run the long way. Just save us from getting drowned.

Priest:  My dear sirs, you showed me that it is your prayer that is correct. The one that reaches God directly. What I do is mere rituals. It is our devotion that pleases God and the way we do it.

With this the priest bowed in front of the three illiterate islanders.