Sunday, 8 June 2014

The Happiness Mantra: To give or not to give



Tagore tells a beautiful  story about the King of kings going out to meet  his humble  subjects  in Gitanjali.  The king spots a beggar and  stuns him by asking  for alms;  “ I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path, when thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I wondered who was this King of all kings/ My hopes rose high and methought my evil days were at an end, and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked and for wealth scattered on all sides in the dust/ The chariot stopped where I stood. Thy glance fell on me and thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had come at last. Then of a sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand and say: ‘What hast thou to give to me?/ Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar and beg! I was confused and stood undecided, and then from my wallet I slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to thee/ But how great was my surprise when at the day’s end I emptied my bag on the floor to find a least little grain of gold among the poor heap! I bitterly wept and wished that I had the heart to give thee my all-----”( v. 50)  All of us want be  at the

Pic re shared courtesy: thequiltsofindia.wordpress.com

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