'Give quietly !

'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 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!