KARM BANDHAN

Karna end has come to Karna after the battle with Arjuna. But his soul is not leaving the body.

The Dharma Devata is around his body protecting the soul. At that time, Bhagwan Srikrishna appears before him in the guise of a Brahmin with a begging bowl.

Knowing Him to be Bhagwan, Karna prays to Him and asks him "What to give" since he has nothing on hand.

Bhagawan says " O ! Karna !! The Dharma Devata is protecting your soul. Pl give away the Punya you have earned by your Dhaarmic Acts, so far, to me as Dhaana. I have come to receive the Dhaana and relieve you from this worldly attachment. Immediately,without any hesitation, Karna removes the arrow from his chest and with the handful of his blood give away the Punya so far he has earned thro"out his life with these words " I give THEE the Punya whatever I have earned so far,along with the Punya what I am now earning by this Act of mine now. " That is Karna the King of Giving.

This is as quoted in Villiputhuraar Bharatham.

"Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do tree eat their own fruit, nor do rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used solely for the benefit of others!

Even after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to give, several questions need to be answered.

The first question is: When should one give?

We all know the famous incident from Mahabharat.

Yudhisthir asks a beggar seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices that Yudhisthir his brother, has conquered death! For he is sure that he will be around the next day to give. Yudhisthir gets the message.

One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give!

The time to give, therefore, is now.

The next question is: 'How much to give?'

One recalls the famous incident from history.

Rana Pratap was reeling after defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his wealth, and most important, he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that time, in his darkest hour, his erstwhile minister, Bhamasha, came seeking him and placed his entire fortune at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived to fight another day.

The answer to this question how much to give is:

"Give as much as one can!
The next question is:

'What to give?'

It is not only money that can be given away. It could be a flower or even a smile.
It is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters. When you give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing received by him in days and weeks!
"You can give anything but you must give with all your heart!"

Next we have to answer:

'How to give?'

Coming to the manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not feel humiliated, nor the giver feels proud by giving.
In giving, follow the advice 'Let not your left hand know what your right hand gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare is the highest form of charity.'

'Give quietly!'

While giving, let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all, what we give never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and will go with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary period. Why then take pride in giving away something which really did not belong to us?

Give with grace and with a feeling of gratitude.

"What should one feel after giving?"

We all know the story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb as "Guru Dakshina, he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to Dronacharya.

There is a little known sequel to this story.

Eklavya was asked whether he ever regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the reply has to be believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was dying.

His reply was "Yes! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken hearted on the false news of death of his son, Ashwathama, and had stopped fighting. It was then that I regretted the loss of my thumb. If the thumb was there, no one could have dared hurt my Guru?

The message to us is clear.

Give and never regret giving!

And the last question is:
`How much should we provide for our heirs?'

Ask yourself 'are we taking away from them the gift of work? - A source of happiness?

The answer is given by Warren Buffett:

"Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing!"

I would conclude by saying:

Let us learn the Art of Giving,

and quoting the Sant Kabir:

"When the wealth in the house increases, when water fills a boat, throw them out (for good causes) with both hands!"

This is the wise thing to do.

---KUMAR RAMANATHAN