The Art of Giving
"Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do trees 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 Mahabharat.
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 the next day to give. Yudhisthir gets the message.
One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give!
Moreover when the thought to give comes one should give immediately before the mind changes.
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 Mughals. 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 one can!
The next question is:
'What to give?'
It is not only money that can be given away. It could be anything. It could be food, service at the physical level, love and affection, knowledge, 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!
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!
When you feed a hungry man a fish you feed him for a day. When you teach him how to fish you feed him for life. Therefore giving knowledge is higher than everything.
The highest giving is the giving of that knowledge which liberates a person from the bondage of all limitations, all miseries and the recurrent cycles of birth and death.
"You can give anything but you must give with all your heart!"
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 the giver feels 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 best form of charity.'
In giving, follow the advice 'Let not your left hand know what your right hand gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare is the best 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?
We should give with grace and with a feeling of gratitude that we got an opportunity to serve.
"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 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.
His reply was "Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas were coming 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?
We should ask ourselves "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!"
Conclusion:
Quoting Saint Kabir:
"When the wealth in the house increases, when water fills a boat, throw them out with both hands!"
THIS IS THE WISE THING TO DO!!!
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