deep emotion and do something, you think that was a very compassionate moment. No, you are seeking self-fulfillment. I am not saying there is anything right or wrong with it, it is just that it is still coming from a certain inadequacy.
One overly-compassionate sage was indiscriminately disposing of people's needs. Because of his austerities, he had attained to a certain capability and he was giving it away. So one day, Shiva called him and tried to advise him, "See, this is not good. The way you are dispensing gifts and boons to other people, this will not bring wellbeing to you, or to the people to whom you give. It may bring you much trouble, it may bring them much trouble, or both of you much trouble. So stop giving these boons. If people come and ask, it's okay, you don't have to give."
Parvathi, Shiva's wife, who was sitting there, said: "Oh, my Lord, how is this possible? As it is, there are very few people who are willing to give anything in the world. And the few men who are giving, you are trying to restrain them also - what is the point? At least a few men who are willing to give, let them give. You must explain this to me. This is not fair. There are very few givers: that also you want to discount and make it much smaller?"
Then Shiva said: "This is not about depriving people of something. This is not about depriving the world of receiving something, nor is it an effort to deprive the person to have the pleasure of giving something. It is just that instead of helping people to evolve where they will naturally receive the bounty of life, an un-evolved person, if you give him something, you will only overburden him. You will only destroy his life. If you are concerned about somebody's ultimate well-being, you must put him through the painstaking process of evolving himself to a higher possibility, where he will receive higher dimensions of life, where receiving just happens to him because he deserves it. If you gift a ton of gold to an ant, it will only crush the ant. It will not make the ant rich; it will only crush the ant. So what you give, how you give, is very important. You don't just give because somebody is asking.
Let me tell you a story. Once there was a very sweet sage. He sat in his cave in the mountain and was into very stringent austerities - eating simple food, always focused on his sadhana. One day a king came hunting in the forest, he found this cave, came inside, and saw the sage totally absorbed in his meditation. He bowed down to him, and he was thirsty, he wanted to drink water. He looked around, there he found a real mean looking vessel. The king thought, 'Such a wonderful human being, so deep in his meditation, so dedicated - why should he use such a mean looking vessel?' So he rode back, sent for some of his men and said, 'Leave two of the most wonderful golden urns for him to use.' So the king's people came, took away this mean-looking vessel, and put up the golden vessels. After a few days the sage opened his eyes, and to perform his morning ablutions and also for other purposes, he looked for his vessel - it was not there. He could not find it anywhere; then he found these two golden vessels. It was not very convenient, they were too elaborate, ornate, and heavy, but he decided to use them because there was nothing else.
Life went on for a few days. One day a very mean looking person with a very mean mind and with mean intentions, came in that direction. He walked into the cave and the first thing his eyes fell on were the golden vessels. The sage welcomed this man and served him a small meal that he had. The man ate, but his eyes were fixed on the golden vessels. The moment the sage closed his eyes to meditate, the man picked up the golden vessel and ran. When he ran, the sage saw in his meditation this man running away with just one golden vessel. Then the sage ran behind him; both of them ran. The man saw the sage coming and ran faster and faster, but because of all his yoga, the
One overly-compassionate sage was indiscriminately disposing of people's needs. Because of his austerities, he had attained to a certain capability and he was giving it away. So one day, Shiva called him and tried to advise him, "See, this is not good. The way you are dispensing gifts and boons to other people, this will not bring wellbeing to you, or to the people to whom you give. It may bring you much trouble, it may bring them much trouble, or both of you much trouble. So stop giving these boons. If people come and ask, it's okay, you don't have to give."
Parvathi, Shiva's wife, who was sitting there, said: "Oh, my Lord, how is this possible? As it is, there are very few people who are willing to give anything in the world. And the few men who are giving, you are trying to restrain them also - what is the point? At least a few men who are willing to give, let them give. You must explain this to me. This is not fair. There are very few givers: that also you want to discount and make it much smaller?"
Then Shiva said: "This is not about depriving people of something. This is not about depriving the world of receiving something, nor is it an effort to deprive the person to have the pleasure of giving something. It is just that instead of helping people to evolve where they will naturally receive the bounty of life, an un-evolved person, if you give him something, you will only overburden him. You will only destroy his life. If you are concerned about somebody's ultimate well-being, you must put him through the painstaking process of evolving himself to a higher possibility, where he will receive higher dimensions of life, where receiving just happens to him because he deserves it. If you gift a ton of gold to an ant, it will only crush the ant. It will not make the ant rich; it will only crush the ant. So what you give, how you give, is very important. You don't just give because somebody is asking.
Let me tell you a story. Once there was a very sweet sage. He sat in his cave in the mountain and was into very stringent austerities - eating simple food, always focused on his sadhana. One day a king came hunting in the forest, he found this cave, came inside, and saw the sage totally absorbed in his meditation. He bowed down to him, and he was thirsty, he wanted to drink water. He looked around, there he found a real mean looking vessel. The king thought, 'Such a wonderful human being, so deep in his meditation, so dedicated - why should he use such a mean looking vessel?' So he rode back, sent for some of his men and said, 'Leave two of the most wonderful golden urns for him to use.' So the king's people came, took away this mean-looking vessel, and put up the golden vessels. After a few days the sage opened his eyes, and to perform his morning ablutions and also for other purposes, he looked for his vessel - it was not there. He could not find it anywhere; then he found these two golden vessels. It was not very convenient, they were too elaborate, ornate, and heavy, but he decided to use them because there was nothing else.
Life went on for a few days. One day a very mean looking person with a very mean mind and with mean intentions, came in that direction. He walked into the cave and the first thing his eyes fell on were the golden vessels. The sage welcomed this man and served him a small meal that he had. The man ate, but his eyes were fixed on the golden vessels. The moment the sage closed his eyes to meditate, the man picked up the golden vessel and ran. When he ran, the sage saw in his meditation this man running away with just one golden vessel. Then the sage ran behind him; both of them ran. The man saw the sage coming and ran faster and faster, but because of all his yoga, the
Similar Books
