It was our lucky son's birthday. We enjoyed a sumptuous meal at his favorite joint - McDonald’s. On coming out of the Gurgaon outlet, we encountered a huge crowd of vagrant women and children. On most days, they would call out for anything to eat, but they too displayed a sense of the occasion and demanded a burger that day.
On sensing my inclination to accede to their demand of momentary happiness, hubby dear and lucky son started protesting. But being the kindhearted one, my heart went out to those poor and hungry homeless. Like a defense lawyer fighting her case in a court of law, I gathered myself and put forth my arguments. Even the downtrodden had the right to eat something exotic once in a while; they too are human. Nature had been unkind to them and had deprived them of this joy. Most importantly, I explained to lucky son for the hundredth time, that unlike him, these begging children were not blessed to be born to affluent parents. Hence, I found it our moral duty to try to bring a smile on their faces whenever possible.
I understand that ideally one should try to better their lives by probably enrolling these homeless kids in a school and help the poor women through gainful employment. However at the moment, that seemed a far fetched idea that could probably take shape after one’s retirement, having fulfilled one’s duties and responsibilities. Undoubtedly, charity begins at home!
The arguments put forth by the opposition lawyers (hubby dear and lucky son) did not go down well with the judge, who was also the defense lawyer, and so I won my case. Before the opposition could come up with new arguments, I quickly took a headcount and rushed inside McDonald’s. The happy faces jumped with joy when they saw me coming out of the restaurant with packets in my hand. On being instructed to queue up in an ascending order as per their ages, they politely obliged. The exuberance on their faces could not be hidden from us. Each one of them gave me a hearty smile and the older women expressed their gratitude with a polite 'thank you' upon receiving their share. On seeing their happy faces, our happiness grew fourfold!!! We couldn't help noticing that they were all uneducated yet well-mannered and obedient when it came to receiving something of interest. More importantly, they knew how to be happy despite their pathetic lives.
Unfortunately, there were two takers for the last burger. A youngish, pregnant woman, in her early twenties had joined the group later on. She stood there expectantly with a middle aged lady. We resolved our dilemma by advising them to share the last burger – but what followed was truly remarkable! The elder woman handed over the burger to the younger one and said with a big smile on her face, "You eat it. I will have it some other day." For a few moments, we were dumbstruck. We had feared that they may quarrel over it and create a scene. But their behavior was truly commendable! Imagine a starving beggar who had probably never tasted a burger in her life, giving it away to someone else, with little chance of getting that prize in the near future! We were deeply touched by her generosity. Collecting myself, I decided to go back to McDonald’s one more time to buy her a fresh burger. But as if reading my thoughts, she asked me not to worry and instead buy her a cup of tea from the nearby 'kitlee'. Having completed our task, we walked back to our car.
All through the day, my thoughts went back to this incident and I couldn't help thinking about the beggar lady who had taught me the real meaning of generosity! This monk did not even have a Ferrari, yet she had given away whatever she had. Her only wealth was a burger which she had donated without even thinking twice as to whether she would get her next meal or not.
Philanthropists get huge media coverage for their donations to charity. However, true generosity is not in donating a minuscule of what we have, but donating most of what we have without any expectation in return. For me, this lady is the wealthiest and the greatest philanthropist of all - an unsung hero! It was her large-heartedness that had deeply touched me. I salute the greatness in her!
In our lives, we come across various individuals who touch our hearts and teach us wonderful things as they pass by. We need to keep our minds open to learn, because even a poor beggar can give us a big life lesson and teach us the meaning of true philanthropy!
