"Respected priest! We have come here from a far-off place. If you can perform the puja soon, we will be able to return home in time" said one of the devotees assembled there.
"Please wait for a while. Let Mr. Sakrhivel come" said the priest.
Sakthivel arrived at the temple at that moment.
Sakthivel arrived at the temple at that moment.
"Why are you making other people wait, Priest? You could have started the puja, without waiting for me" Sakthivel told the priest.
After the puja was performed, Sakthivel looked at everyone, folded his palms, by way of showing his reverance to them and said, "I have arranged for serving of food for all the devotees in the hall outside the temple. 'Serving food' may not be the appropriate word. Perhaps, I should have said, 'extending the hospitality to the devotees.' I am not well-educated. So I used a commonly known expression 'serving food.' Please don't mind it. I appeal to all of you to bless me, by accepting my hospitality. This is my humble request."
"Who is this person?" a devotee who had visited the temple from another place asked the person, standing beside him.
"Sakthivel is a noble man, in the real sense of the word. He is a wealthy man, possessing large extents of lands and other resources. But, he is very humble. He is a philanthropist. He contributes a substantial amount of money for various religious activities in the temple. If someone approaches him seeking his help, he will definitely extend his help" said the other person, who hailed from that place.
"Oh! It is heartening to know that we have such people in our midst."
When Sakthivel returned home from the temple, his wife Vadivu told him, 'You have got a letter from your brother's wife.".
"What has she written?" asked Sakthivel.
"She has written that the amount of money you send her every month is not sufficient to meet her needs. She has requested you to increase the monthly payment you have been sending her."
When Sakthivel returned home from the temple, his wife Vadivu told him, 'You have got a letter from your brother's wife.".
"What has she written?" asked Sakthivel.
"She has written that the amount of money you send her every month is not sufficient to meet her needs. She has requested you to increase the monthly payment you have been sending her."
"Let me see!"
"You have been helping even strangers. Why don't you help your sister in law, by sending her a little more money?" asked Vadivu.
"My elder brother had left this place at a young age, to take up a job at a far off place. From that time, I have been looking after his lands, along with mine and sending him his share of the income from the lands. He didn't know anything about the yield from the lands. He was accepting whatever money I gave him as his share. After he passed away, I have been sending the same amount of money to his wife. If I send her more money now, won't she think that I had been cheating my brother all these years? I have a plan in my mind. I expect that after sometime, my sister in law would ask me to sell her lands and pay the sale proceeds to her so that she could deposit the sale proceeds in the bank and live on the interest received on the deposit. At that time, I would buy her lands at a low price!" said Sakthivel.
"I have been pondering over the question why God has not blessed us with a child, while you have been involving yourself in so many philanthropic activities. Now, I understand the reason for that" said Vadivu, bitterly.
*puja - a ritual of worship in Hindu temples.
Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue
The Path of Virtue
Chapter 16
Bearing No Envy
Bearing No Envy
Verse 176 (In Tamil)
aruL vehki ARRin kaN ninRAn poruL vehkip
pollAdha sUzhak kedum.
pollAdha sUzhak kedum.
Meaning:
One who seeks to be compassionate and follows a virtuous path, will succumb to destructive thoughts and acts, if he falters and covets others’ possessions.
(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kELvi piRandhadhu anRu badhil kidaiththadhu inRu' by the same author.)
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