At the onset of the holy month of Ramadan, I thought of posting one of my earlier letter published in the local newspaper more than three years ago. Here it goes:
Every society and every religion speaks about the benevolence of giving. According to Holy Koran, “Prayer comes half way to God, fasting brings us to the door of His palace and alms giving procures us admission.”
And, yet each one of us has his/her own understanding of “giving”. Some do it to gain recognition; some others do it to gain personal favours; and still some others do it purely in form of a business transaction. Hardly anyone does it unconditionally. Joseph Kasper Lavater says, “The manner of giving shows the character of the giver than the gift itself.” It is often said that your left hand should not know what your right hand has given. One does not have to be rich to give. With the spirit of true generosity, even a pauper can give like a prince. I was touched by the following story of a boy demonstrating this spirit of true generosity:
“I once went to see a Circus with my father. Ahead of us in the queue was a family of six – parents and four young children – all excited. When they reached the window, the counter man told the proud father that their six tickets would cost $40. Hearing this, the man’s jaws dropped as he fumbled with only three $10 notes in his hand. However, oblivious of this development, children were playing excitedly. With the certainty of ending their excitement pre-maturely, blood drained out of that man’s face. At this instant, my father dropped a $10 note on the ground and tapped on that man’s shoulder saying, “This has dropped out of your pocket.” That man squeezed my father’s hand in silent gratitude as we left the queue.
And, yet each one of us has his/her own understanding of “giving”. Some do it to gain recognition; some others do it to gain personal favours; and still some others do it purely in form of a business transaction. Hardly anyone does it unconditionally. Joseph Kasper Lavater says, “The manner of giving shows the character of the giver than the gift itself.” It is often said that your left hand should not know what your right hand has given. One does not have to be rich to give. With the spirit of true generosity, even a pauper can give like a prince. I was touched by the following story of a boy demonstrating this spirit of true generosity:
“I once went to see a Circus with my father. Ahead of us in the queue was a family of six – parents and four young children – all excited. When they reached the window, the counter man told the proud father that their six tickets would cost $40. Hearing this, the man’s jaws dropped as he fumbled with only three $10 notes in his hand. However, oblivious of this development, children were playing excitedly. With the certainty of ending their excitement pre-maturely, blood drained out of that man’s face. At this instant, my father dropped a $10 note on the ground and tapped on that man’s shoulder saying, “This has dropped out of your pocket.” That man squeezed my father’s hand in silent gratitude as we left the queue.
Having parted with the only money my father had, we returned without watching the circus. But, what I had seen would remain with me for the rest of my life.”
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