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ASSOCIATION
Smile: Don't Weep
I happened to meet a rich businessman this morning. He was weeping on the loss of all his wealth in business. May I ask him a few questions ? "Did you ever feed the hungry? Did you ever give clothes to the naked? Did you ever wipe out a single tear of a sufferer ? Did you shelter any poor man under the roof of your palatial building? Did you ever contribute any money to charitable organisations or institutions of the country? Has your wealth purified and ennobled your this life or the life to come? If not, why do you weep over the loss of your wealth? Why are you crying so bitterly? Your wealth was not wealth it was poison. It is good that it has gone. Otherwise it would have completely defiled and killed your soul."
Four Kinds of Charity
135
If you yourself go to the recipient and honourably give charity to him, it is the highest kind of charity.
If you call the recipient to your house and give him charity, it is next to the highest.
If you give charity on the begging of the recipient, it is bad charity.
But if you give charity in expectation of some gain, it is the lowest kind of charity.
Quality, not Quantity
Lord Mahavira and his great followers always gave more importance to quality than to quantity. One single lion in the forest is more important than thousands of jackals.
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