Choose 'Generous'

We were taught in school not to ever beg in life for anything but what we were not taught is how to respond to a beggar who sacrifices all of his lifetime's earnings, a mere 2000 Rs. in charity for the education of a neighborhood child who needed money to study further after being qualified in one of the top government medical examinations.

I heard this story over a radio channel where one of the listeners had called in to share something and its generally one of those darn moments when listeners like me yell "hell boy, finish your story fast so that I can listen to some good music, the very reason I'm here". But I'm so glad I didn't switch the channel and decided to hook onto this caller from Barrackpore, a small town in West Bengal, who shared this beautiful story of selflessness, compassion & generosity.

The story goes something like this -- a poor guy had qualified in to be eligible for applying in one of the top medical institutes of India. The only thing refraining him from the admission was his poverty. His father did not have the money to fund his education. His neighbors were kind enough to collect donation on his behalf & help him study further. Despite all the people giving their best at helping this poor guy they were still short by Rs. 2000. And here arrives our hero, the local beggar, who offered to donate his lifetime's savings of Rs. 2000 for this guy's education, not being bothered of the little he has, SALUTE!

I would not only like to salute the beggar who gave away all of his lifetime's savings for an unknown boy whom he addressed as his grandson (yes, this speaks of the beggar being an old man) but would also like to salute the person for sharing this story with us. And through this blog I strive to be another link in the chain for spreading this touching story (not covered by any media or news house) for I believe the universe deserves to know such kind of stories more often. They say what we throw back at universe it returns the same to us. I'm just being a little selfish here by giving the universe an example of generosity & compassion and expect to receive the same in some form, some where, some day.