There was a beautiful and serene village called Zarvan in Yemen. Abbas, a pious and prosperous farmer lived there. He was blessed with a generous heart. He was famous in the village for his helpful nature and large-heartedness.
Whatever he harvested on the field or in business, he made sure he gave away one-fifth of that to the poor. Abbas never forgot who was the real provider for his riches.
Abbas's house became famous for his benevolence and kindness. It was a free hotel for the poor and the roaming Sufis who visited the village from time to time. Anyone who was hungry could come to his house for free food. Whenever the villagers needed any help, they would come to Abbas's house.
Come what may, Abbas was clear that till the day he died, he would continue to do charity. Abbas would separate one-fifth of the grain he harvested for charity. The bread he baked with this one-fifth of grain, he would distribute to the needy. His wife and children would get very upset when he did that. They thought that he was taking away their share. There were fights in his family but Abbas never wavered. However, Abbas was afraid that when he died, his children would stop this generous practice.
Abbas believed that GOD almighty was giving him several times more than what he gave out. Deep within himself, Abbas knew that the wealth that he was giving out was not his. He knew for sure that sowing his seeds, tending to his fields and crops every year, and working hard at his livelihood were merely abilities that had been gifted to him and the true provider of life was only GOD. He was merely doing his part in GOD's larger plan. The charity was flowing THROUGH him and not FROM him.
He repeatedly asked his children to continue on his path but they never listened. Abbas eventually passed away. As he had expected, his children never shared the family wealth with the needy. Soon Abbas's vast farmlands became barren and the Sufis stopped passing through the village keeping their blessed presence far from Zarvan and its people.
The END
1. Lot of us confuse diving blessings with our own doing. Yes, we work hard to clear entrance exams, we slog at work/businesses, and we are smart with money and other things. But, these things do not guarantee prosperity/success. A lot of people work hard etc, yet 'success' eludes them. There are several other unknown and invisible factors at work which give us this 'success'. Sometimes, we call these unknown things 'luck'. When we fail, we blame our luck. When we succeed, we attribute it to our intelligence/hard working /smart. We give ourselves too much credit for our 'success'.
2. We need to get over this concept of 'I' as the doer/creator. At the end of the day, we are only here to play our part and continue on our individual journeys. Where we reach is not in our hands. This does not mean we do not work hard or do not exert ourselves. However, what will be the fruit of our labour is not in our hands. The fruit cannot be claimed as a 'right' or entitlement. The divine will decide that based on, for lack of a better phrase, 'his own process'.
3. We have all heard of Law of Karma. Only when we are generous, can we expect others to be generous with us. Only when we are ready to share what we have, can we expect others to share what is theirs with us. The farmer Abbas is generous with what he has. And he is blessed with more and more. When his children stop the outward flow, the inward flow also stops.
4. Abbas understood the biggest truth. The wealth he was giving away was not his. He is not the owner. He is merely the instrument through which the divine is spreading his blessings. Most of us find it difficult to get this concept. Once Author Amish was asked about how he could create such a beautiful Shiva trilogy. His answer was enlightening. He said that whenever he approached the book with the arrogance of the author, he could not write. Only when he approached the book with the humility of a witness, the writing could happen. The book was writing itself. He was merely an instrument in a larger plan!
5. One should not be doing charity out of fear. The idea of this story is not to scare people and force them to give. A lot of times we do charity out of fear or because we feel social/religious pressure to do it. The central message of the story is to understand that whatever is happening is not just our doing it. It is happening because a larger power has willed it to happen and we are just actors/instruments in that larger plan.
6. Not only the results , but also the ability to enjoy our rewards is given by God. Let us take an example to understand this. Suppose you have favourite dish. Normally, whenever that dish is cooked, you relish it. However, after a viral fever, when our taste buds are impacted, we cannot even taste the same. The ability to enjoy the food it absent there and hence same food taste sour! Similarly, you may have earned lot of wealth but a weak health would not permit you to enjoy this wealth. Similarly, even our ability to achieve great things is given by God. Once we can realize this, we become humbler and more in alignment with the higher power.
STORY CREDIT: This story has its source in the six volumes of Masnavi by Jalalu'din Rumi, translated by Maryam Mafi
Comments