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!
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 one
can!
The next question is:
'What to give?'
It is not only
money that can be given away. 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 all 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 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 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.
"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 the 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!
