Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Save your Punyas, Not the Money

SPEND MONEY FOR GOOD CAUSE

Jai Shri Mataji,

In these days of recession, it has become a habit for all people to save money as much they can and not willing to donate or shell out any thing for the charity. The more we spend towards good cause, the more we will receive back.
The following are the golden words of our mother about spending money for good cause.


1984-05-21
"But the people like Indians, who are not calculating, are not so rich, they are very generous, they always have money for Sahaja Yoga. I have never had a problem of money with them. Never. Because they are not so calculating. To them, to do for others, not for yourself, but for others, to spend for others. If they have come to your house, alright, open your heart now; this is the time to spend. Not for drinking and self-indulgence, but for the indulgence of doing for others; that’s their practice and tradition. ‘Oh, they have come! Let’s spend now. What can we do?’ This is the main thing one should understand, those who are mostly indulgent are extremely miserly people. So, the attention which is cunning is the worst attention because, you see, cunningness also cheats yourself, if it is cunning with you and you think, ‘Oh, I’ve been smart enough, you see I’ve saved 2p’. But you have lost your soul. You are no more a Sahaja Yogi."

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So when we observe well the words of mother, it is very clear that to be a true sahaj yogi, we need to spend money for good cause and not to worry so much about the future. This is the best sahaj way. I would like to share a short story narrating the importance of spending for good cause and being a good soul.

The following is that short story.

One day a zamindar(richest man of a village) rode his horse, with a servant behind him holding an umbrella to shield his master from the sun. After a while, the zamindar dismounted from the horse and rested in the shade of a tree.

A poor man who was passing by told the zamindar, “You travel on horseback. But I have to walk, and will therefore be exposed to the sun for longer. Don’t you think I should have your umbrella?”

The zamindar saw the logic of his words, and gave the poor man his umbrella. Then the poor man said, “Why do you need slippers?” And the zamindar parted with his footwear. Then the poor man said, “Why do you need this horse? Give that also to me.” But the zamindar now drove the poor man away.

Far from being unhappy, the poor man was happy. The puzzled zamindar asked him why. The poor man said had he gone home without asking for the horse, he would have felt miserable, wondering if he should not have asked for that too. But now that he had asked and was refused, he felt relieved.

He now knew that even his asking wouldn’t get him the horse. When we work hard for something, we are happy with the results. But when something comes easily, we become demanding.

Now both the zamindar and the poor man are happy and their hearts filled with joy that is arised out of the giving and receiving gestures. The giver always is more happeir seeing the happiness on the face of the receiver.

In another instance, a rich man had a big gold bar, which he buried in his garden. Every day he would dig it up and have a look at it. One day his neighbour stole the gold bar. When the rich miser confronted him, the latter replied that since the rich man was only going to look at the gold bar and not use it anyway, what did it matter whether it were brick or gold?

While we must save for a rainy day, it is also important to spend.

While giving to those in need is important, the gesture must not be such as to encourage laziness, and while it is important to save, it is equally important to know how and when to spend. The important thing is to have a balanced outlook towards money and wealth.