"Rivers do not
drink their own water, nor do tree eat their own fruit, nor do rain
clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used
solely for the benefit of others?
Even
after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to
give, several questions need to be answered.
The first question is
when should one give?
We all know the
famous incident from the Mahabharata.
Yudhisthir,
asks a beggar seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim
rejoices, that Yudhisthir his brother, has conquered death! For he is
sure that he will be around tomorrow to give. Yudhisthir gets the
message.
One does not
know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give! The time to
give therefore is now.
The next question is how
much to give.
One
recalls the famous incident from history. Rana Pratap was reeling
after defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his
wealth, and most important he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that
time in his darkest hour, his erstwhile minister Bhamasha came seeking
him and placed his entire fortune at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With
this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived to fight another day.
The answer to this question how much to give is "Give as much as you can!
The next question is
what to give. It is not only money that can be given. It could be a
flower or even a smile.
It
is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters.
When you give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing
received by him in days and weeks! "You can give anything but you must
give with your heart!
One also needs answer to
this question whom to give.
Many times we
avoid giving by finding fault with the person who is seeking. However,
being judgmental and rejecting a person on the presumption that he may
not be the most deserving is not justified. "Give without being
judgmental!
Next we have to answer
How to give
Coming to the
manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not feel
humiliated, nor does the giver feel proud by giving. In giving follow
the advice, '
Let
not your left hand know what your right hand gives? Charity without
publicity and fanfare is the highest form of charity. 'Give quietly!
While giving
let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all what we give
never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and
will go with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary
period. Why then take pride in giving away something which really did
not belong to us? Give with grace and with a feeling of gratitude. When
you help someone in need, give it before he asks for it; for if you
place him under the necessity of stretching out his hand, you take away
from him his self-respect which is worth more than the value of your
alms.
What should one feel after giving?
We all know the
story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb as
"Guru Dakshina", he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to
Dronacharya.
There
is a little known sequel to this story. Eklavya was asked whether
he ever regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the
reply has to be believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was
dying. His reply was "Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It
was when Pandavas were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken
hearted on the false news of death of his son Ashwathama and had
stopped fighting. It was then that I regretted the loss of my thumb. If
the thumb was there, no one could have dared hurt my Guru.
The message to
us is clear. Give and never regret giving!
And the last question is
How much should we provide for our heirs?
Ask yourself
'are we taking away from them the gift of work'? - A source of
happiness! The answer is given by Warren Buffett: "Leave your kids
enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing!
I would
conclude by saying: let us learn the Art of Giving, and quoting Saint
Kabir:
"When
the wealth in the house increases, when water fills a boat, Throw
them out with both hands"
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