Before India gained independence, a
few young men from the villages wanted to free India from the foreign yoke; they wanted the British to quit India. They needed material wealth to throw the
British out of India, so they started collecting money in the Indian villages.
One day, they got inspired to
collect material things as well. They went from door to door carrying a huge
bag, which gradually was filled with money and gifts. As they went, a
one-legged beggar kept following them. The young men did not mind.
At the end of the day, they entered
into a house to see what they had collected. The beggar also wanted to enter,
but since he was not a member of the group, they did not allow him in. The
beggar pleaded with them: "I walked such a long distance right behind you.
You want freedom; I also want freedom. Our Motherland is not only your
property. It is also my property."
At first, the young men got mad and
told the beggar to go away. Then one of the men felt sorry for him, so they decided
to show him the things they had collected. While the beggar was looking at the
gifts in their bag, most of them were showing him real contempt. Then suddenly
the beggar opened up the bag that he had been carrying. It contained a few
coins and some rice. He spontaneously threw all the contents into their bag.
Immediately all the members of the
revolutionary group started shedding tears of gratitude, because he had given
all that he had to their cause. On that day, they had gone to visit so many
rich families, who had given them next to nothing; but this beggar had given
them everything that he had! They were deeply moved by the beggar's
contribution.
Don’t avoid anybody immediately –
they may contain value of human more than gold, diamond etc…
From Illumination-Experiences on
Indian Soil
by Sri Chinmoy