LEARN TO GIVE, NOT TO
TAKE; LEARN TO SERVE, NOT TO RULE. - BABA
It is human nature to
receive but not reciprocate by giving back to others. Man in his desire to
possess every thing for himself does not realize the Pleasure in giving back to
others. He is narrow minded, selfish and miserly. He accumulates money and
materials whether he needs it or not but is unable to get his desire satisfied.
At the end the money and material he has collected goes waste or is enjoyed by others.
Definitely there is an indescribable pleasure in offering a part of our
accumulated money or material to those who deserve it!
The quality of
Sacrifice is extolled in our Upanishads. Man cannot attain immortality by his
actions or by his progeny or by his wealth and riches. It is only by his Sacrifice,
giving away a part of his money and material to the poor and needy that he can
get immortality! "Na karmana Na prajaya Na dhanena thyage naikena amrutatwa manasuhu" says the Veda! Our Puranas are
replete with a number of great Souls who sacrificed their lives for the sake of
the good of other people. When Indra, the king of Gods was direly in need of a
terrible weapon to kill the demon Vrutrasura, he approached the famous sage
Dadhichi. The weapon had to be made out of the vertebra of the sage and he
gladly perished and the Vajrayudha was made out of the vertebra of the deceased
sage! We are proud of the others like Rantideva and the emperor Sibi who are noted
for their sacrifices to help and save others!
How should Charity or
Dana be made? It should be made with faith. It should not be made casually or
with negligence. Whatever is given away must be offered with Love, devotion and humility. It should be for the
welfare of the receiver according to the capacity of the giver. Taittiriya
Upanishad says, "sraddha yadeyam asraddha yadeyam sriyadeyam hriyadeyam samvida deyam." The philanthropist or the Giver is
always at the higher end while the receiver is at the lower end. His heart is
full of Love, open, pure and simple! He cares for the poor, needy and the downtrodden.
He is not obsessed with money. The Giver has his hand above while that of the
Receiver is below! The Giver is the Benefactor while the Receiver is the
Beneficiary! The Bhagavatha Purana gives a classical example of the story of
the great emperor BALI. Lord Vishnu, in his avatar as VAMANA approaches BALI
and begs for three feet of land! Struck at the beauty and radiance of the young
Brahmin lad, Bali instantly agrees! But his preceptor, Sukracharya warns him
that the innocent looking Brahmin lad is not an ordinary Brahmin but the very
Lord Vishnu! He had come to restore the glory and prosperity of Indra, the king
of Gods by divesting Bali of his empire! Instead of becoming angry, Bali is
extremely happy that Lord Vishnu has come to his door to beg! He considers it a
rare honor and rejecting the warning of his Guru, he gives away the three feet
of Land required by the disguised Brahmin, VAMANA! Immediately VAMANA
grows in to his viswaroopa encompassing the Earth and the sky with His two
feet! He asks Bali to show him the place for his third foot! In his
devotion, Bali shows his Head and The Lord places his lotus foot on Bali's head
and sends him to Pathala, the Nether world!
The Mahabharata
glorifies another great character, KARNA for his enviable and rare virtue of
charity or Dana! He is thus called "DANA KARNA" by all! To save his
son from KARNA, Indra comes to him disguised as a Brahmin and asks for his
" kavacha kundala” which made him invincible! KARNA gives them away
knowing fully well that he will be vulnerable to the arrows of Arjuna! Finally,
in his last moments, he gives away his ‘punya’ the effect of all his good deeds
to Lord Krishna himself and gets emancipation! Thus God
blesses the Benefactors!
As SWAMI says it is
always better to give than to receive! At the same time it is better to SERVE
than to RULE! Service to humanity is service to God! We know the saying: He
Lives Who Lives For Others! By serving the common man in society one
loses his ego or ahankara and superiority complex! It aids him in recognizing
the Divinity in Man! He realizes that the same spirit or soul is manifest
in all the creatures on earth! He derives an indescribable delight in
alleviating the sufferings of others! The Hand that serves is better than the
Lips that pray! This Body is given to serve others, not to Rule "Paropakarartham
idham sareeram". It is good to help others and a sin to do evil
says sage Vyasa! By attempting to rule we incur the displeasure of others! We
are likely to lose our heads as we become power mad! We may become despots and
tyrants oppressing others! Our acts shall bring misery to people! A RULER is
never happy! He raises a hornet's nest around himself! He will not know when he
will be over powered and thrown out! His enemies will be ready to attack him at
an unexpected moment! "UNEASY LIES THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE
CROWN!"
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
has opened the eyes of the world and demonstrated to it the meaning and effect
of the word Service! His Service activities have encompassed the whole world!
His " unconditional pure Love and self less service has resulted in2040 Sathya Sai centers in 115 countries in the world! Value Based Education is taught in 23 institutes of Sri
Sathya Sai Education and 41 schools in 32 countries! Spiritual Education is being imparted regularly!
Community Service, Disaster Relief are taken up actively, regularly and in
times of need respectively! Medical aid to the poor and others irrespective of
color, creed caste and community is provided by the various Hospitals and the
Supreme Specialty Hospitals! Water starved areas in Andhra have got good
drinking water! Chennai too has got its quota of drinking water! Swami
and His Love and service are all pervading!!!
Can there be any thing
better than GIVING and SERVING others in Society?
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