Generous Damage

Life's Lessons - Joseph Mattappally

Donate generously; this is one of the advices people generally hear, perhaps on a daily basis. The very thing generated in every mind is always an amount of money, carelessly thrown out. A donation is precisely a gift given in cash or kind, mostly for charitable purposes; it may take various forms. Attitude to share is one of the basic passions in any human being. The present day donors know that they haven’t enough time to locate the needy and share a part of their fortune with them; they are more or less compelled to endorse choice agencies to do the job on their behalf. Modern agencies are bright enough to assure the donors all the credits in their karma account with Cosmic Central Bank. They know such an offer will help them fetch more. Since donations are considered to be a heavenly act cleansing the spirit, it always is considered a pretty good spiritual deal for the busy. But, does such an attitude serve the purpose? Look at this story.

This story took place in Bandar, a remote small town in Andhra Pradesh state. One day, a person was walking through the streets of the town. His walk was peculiar, as if that of a person who never needs to lower his head anywhere. As he walked, he noticed that a young boy, who was sitting outside his house aside the street, is crying aloud. The man approached the boy and asked him the matter. Sensing the empathy in his eyes, the boy spoke, still sobbing, “Swamiji, my father died quite recently, leaving my mother and two brothers. I am the eldest of the children, who has to earn for the rest. I searched a lot for a job, but I was not able to get one anywhere”.

The person thought for a while; he wanted to help the young boy somehow. He said, “Come with me”. They went to a Bank, the manager of which was known to this man. The man requested the Manager to train the boy on some Bank related work. It was done and the boy began learning the work with great devotion. The man gave the boy some money before leaving. Next month also the man came to the Bank to give the boy some more money. On the third month, since the boy had acquired enough experience, the Bank recruited him to the job and thus the young boy was enabled to stand on his own legs. The person was none other than Dr. Bhogaraaju Pattaabhi Seetaaraamayya, one of the frontline freedom fighters from Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Seetaaraamayya was a man of values who never compromised with the outside world of masks. His statue is still in front of the Andhra Bank branch in Bandheri, but I doubt if there is any viewer who lives by the theory as laid down by this great man. 

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