Nature and God have bestowed on us vast richness and treasures. We are born with a healthy body and given nourishment by our mother and Nature. Warm sunshine, sparkling clean water, cool breeze, the solidity of mother earth beneath our feet, the food grains and cereals, innumerable varieties of fruits and vegetables nurture and nourish us. We are given intelligence and logic and other talents by which we are able to make discoveries and inventions which have made our lives more comfortable and earned us wealth, pleasure and power.
When we compare our lifestyles today with the lifestyles of the royalty in past, we are much better off. The facilities and luxuries we enjoy in our daily lives were not heard of in the past. Despite their wealth, the maharajas could not travel at super speed in trains and planes like we do today. Despite such huge growth of material prosperity at the family, village, state and national levels, there is never enough for some. There are some people who are misers. They have enough of wealth for a comfortable living or even a luxurious living and yet they will not spend money on themselves. And they will definitely not spend on others.
Misers live in spiritual poverty and there is no deliverance for them. Nature teaches us daily to share of what we have. The sun, moon, wind, water, trees and plants - all give effortlessly without any expectations of returns or gratitude. We do not learn the lesson of giving despite experiencing such wonders on a daily basis. Unless we sow, we cannot reap. Unless we give freely of what we have and share with our needy brethren, we cannot get salvation. We must tithe a portion of what we earn and have and offer to the poor, saints and places of worship. The amount that we tithe is the seed; the seeds grow into plants and yield fruits. We get rewards in the quantities we tithe. The more we give freely, the more we will receive from nature. The man who has in plenty and cannot and will not share, will receive neither Grace nor Deliverance.
Long time ago there lived a Saint. He was a store house of knowledge and wisdom. He was widely respected and had a large following. People came to him in large numbers for knowledge and advice and he helped all lovingly. Because of him, many lives were transformed and saved spiritually. Even Kings and Ministers visited him for his darshan and receiving solutions to many tricky political problems they faced.
Time passed and the Saint grew old. He was aware that his end was coming soon and he would be leaving his body. So he spent all his time in doing the Nama Smaran – chanting the holy name at all times and waiting for his death. The news of his impending death spread all over the country and people came from different parts of the land for his last darshan. True Bhaktas came for sake of darshan and last minute wisdom. But some came for getting some power or materialistic benefit or donations from the Saint.
Amongst those who came to see the Saint was a rich miser. This man had enough wealth to last for seven generations, yet he sought more. He came to get gifts of wealth from the old Saint. The miser sat out with many hundreds of people waiting for the Saint’s darshan. The Saint did not want to meet anyone. But when he saw the miser, he invited him to come and sat near him. The miser looked around at all those waiting with a look which said: see –Only I am called. I am the chosen one. I am great!
The miser asked the Saint: Respected Sir, please tell me why did you call me only and not the others? The saint replied: These good people sitting out there and I have a definite chance of meeting some time in future in the heavenly spheres. A miser can never get deliverance. So there is no chance for me to meet you. Hence I called you now to give you some spiritual advice!
Let us learn to be generous of heart and share with all a portion of what we have with the needy! Let us give up our miserly nature and share with others the blessings poured on us by Nature and God. Such giving only increases the blessings we receive.
Let us learn to be generous of heart and share with all a portion of what we have with the needy! Let us give up our miserly nature and share with others the blessings poured on us by Nature and God. Such giving only increases the blessings we receive.
