Liberality

Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha

A person has to become liberal. It is particularly related to resourcefulness. As one becomes resourceful, he must also become liberal. As his resources grow so too should his liberality. Otherwise, the resourcefulness will have an adverse effect of constricting the personality.

A person may be immensely rich. But he can eat for only one stomach; he cannot lie on two cots. So, the primary need for everyone is specified clearly. There is no point in trying to enhance these needs without limit or in a disproportionate manner. The question necessarily arises – what will he do with the resources at his disposal? That is why we repeatedly emphasize that he should become liberal. He must take interest in others – the others need not be related to him by blood or matrimony. He must take interest in the welfare of the society in general.

Whenever you give anything to someone who is not related to you, that action of giving is called daana. You request the recipient to come and receive whatever you are giving, and to make use of the gifts or offerings. Your attitude should be: “Please make use of these. I shall be happy if it helps you.” If you give with kind, soft and loving words, then that kind of offering is called daana.

Daana not only helps the society at large, it also purifies the wealth of the possessor. Only when the wealth one has is purified by such acts, the descendents who inherit the wealth will be guided by righteous moral sense to make use of it; they will not be spoilt by the inheritance. Daana thus ensures a very long-term auspicious development both for the family and the society.

It is easy to bequeath wealth, but it is not easy to bequeath and ensure character. Often the descendants of a very rich person become lavish in their life styles and imbibe bad character which sometimes even leads to extremely criminal and socially harmful tendencies. This is not something that you would like to happen. You would like your descendents to be good, loving and kind.

How to ensure that those who inherit property or wealth from you will also have the right sense in the matter of character and behaviour? For that, the wealth you bequeath should become pure. The only way you can purify your wealth is by giving daana liberally.

Last night I was emphasizing this importance of being liberal when one of the listeners said, “Swamiji, during the time of my professional life I was holding a responsible position. I have given employment to almost nine hundred people. I used to send interview cards on my own to some of my relatives and to some extremely poor and deserving, even though they had not applied for the post. But, I have found that almost none of them have been grateful to me. Of course, it did not matter, as I had no expectation.”

The last sentence of his expression I liked very much. I said that whenever you extend any kind of help or gift to anybody, never expect that he should be grateful to you. If you expect gratefulness or any kind of return, the Daana loses its sublimity and power; it no longer remains Daana, it becomes trade.

Whenever you give help, go on helping because you would love to help others – not expecting anything in return. When you need help, those people whom you have helped, should not and need not come to you. If they come, that should be on a different basis, not in return for your help. In fact, those people who are to help you will come from somewhere else. That is the law of providence. Liberality and kindheartedness should become a quality of yours. That quality itself will have its subjective, benedictory effect.

So, never make the mistake. Don’t say, or don’t even think: “I have helped him so much and he is not grateful!” Never expect anybody to be grateful or helpful on the ground of you having helped him in the past. Be helpful, and when you need help, let some others whom you have not helped come and help you. Then alone the cyclic law of goodness and kindness becomes expressive. That is how even Nature gets a sense of fulfilment.

So, to be liberal is very important. One has to be liberal in the matter of spending money on one’s own family. There are people who have money but are so miserly that they do not buy even a toy for their own children. There are others who will buy too much and spoil the children. What we want is moderation. Let there be a judicious and discreet way of handling things. For all this, liberality is very important.

This liberal nature is not restricted to only giving articles or money in the form of material help to others. You have to be liberal in the matter of accommodating others and appreciating others’ qualities. Whenever good words or consoling words are necessary, use them liberally. Be liberal in your thoughts. That is why we have a beautiful prayer:

sarve janah sukhino bhavantu 

May all people be peaceful and happy.

By thinking in this manner, what do you lose? The idea should not be that only a few in your family should be happy and comfortable. Let all people enjoy contentment, peace, happiness and prosperity. That is liberal thinking.

Real growth starts from the mind. It is in the mind and by the mind. Outside, it only expresses. Real growth and creation take place inside – in the sphere of your heart and mind. So, let there be liberal thoughts, liberal words and liberal acts.

Whenever a person is carrying a load, give him a helping hand. Whenever somebody is working on a task, find out whether you can assist him. That is physical help. If someone is in distress, carrying a mental load, see how you can give him relief. Be a moral support to him. Share his burden of the heart. Likewise, in the intelligence level, whenever you can impart some knowledge of any kind, be liberal in giving that knowledge.

Cultivation of this liberality is very important. It is not merely goodness and kindness. It is a quality that should always grace your mind and heart. If you practise liberality, your personality will become poised and lofty. Naturally, any kind of torment or difficulty will become trivial or insignificant. If you have a liberal, flexible and expansive heart, then any extent of difficulty or adversity will not become a load. You will be able to bear them gracefully. Your troubles will look like the minor waves in the large expanse of your heart.

Harih Om Tat Sat

[This was Poojya Swamiji's Prabhaatarashmih message]

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