*The Art of Giving*

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*The Art of Giving*

" *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 Mahabharat. Yudhisthir, asks a

beggar seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices

that Yudhisthir, his brother, had conquered death! For he was sure

that he would 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 at the hands of Mughals. He had lost his army,

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 judgemental and rejecting a person on the presumption

that he may not be the most deserving is not justified *. " Give

without being judgemental. " *

 

Give to the deserving and not to

those who do not deserve.

 

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 Bible '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

Sant 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 "

pgk murthy (murthypgk)

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The so far .Regards. M.P.rajus is one of the best messages I have ever read