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The Evil You Do Remains With You, The Good You Do Comes Back To You!

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Wonderful story….with POWERFUL lesson

A woman baked chapatti (roti) for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra chapatti on the window sill, for whosoever would take it away. Every day, a hunchback came and took away the chapatti. Instead of expressing gratitude, he muttered the following words as he went his way: “The evil you do remains with you: The goo
d you do, comes back to you!” This went on, day after day. Every day, the hunchback came, picked up the chapatti and uttered the words:

“The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!” The woman felt irritated. “Not a word of gratitude,” she said to herself… “Everyday this hunchback utters this jingle! What does he mean?” One day, exasperated, she decided to do away with him. “I shall get rid of this hunchback,” she said. And what did she do? She added poison to the chapatti she prepared for him!

As she was about to keep it on the window sill, her hands trembled. “What is this I am doing?” she said. Immediately, she threw the chapatti into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window sill. As usual, the hunchback came, picked up the chapatti and muttered the words: “The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!”

The hunchback proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman. Every day, as the woman placed the chapatti on the window sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many months, she had no news of him.. She prayed for his safe return.

That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway. He had grown thin and lean. His garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak. As he saw his mother, he said, “Mom, it’s a miracle I’m here. While I was but a mile away, I was so famished that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old hunchback passed by. I begged of him for a morsel of food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole chapatti. As he gave it to me, he said, “This is what I eat everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!”

” As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale. She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned chapatti that she had made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost his life!

It was then that she realized the significance of the words: “The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!” Do good and Don’t ever stop doing good, even if it is not appreciated at that time. If you like this, share it with others and I bet so many lives would be touched.
 

Ambarsaria

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Aman Singh ji thanks for a wonderfully described story.

The new generation perhaps does not come across such stuff any more. I do recall when we lived at Khalsa College, Amritsar for almost 9 years as well as at Sultanwind (our village besides Amritsar) that we used to do it. I am not sure if it was done everyday and every meal but the awareness to give or share with someone in need was always visible.

Sat Sri Akal.
 

Luckysingh

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Anyway, that story is nice and very inspiring.
We should just give when we feel the need to without any judging.

Back in UK, in my younger days when I would be out on Friday nights ...etc.. I would be in main city or downtown like areas in early morning hours and we would come across lots of homeless on the streets. It's well known and rumoured that most of these homeless were 'tennants super' or strong cider drinkers ( these are very strong beers that would get most drunk with only a small intake).-
Anyway, my point is that I would very often give them five pounds or some loose change and tell them to get a decent meal. Many times I would be ridiculed and accused by my friends and other fellows that I shouldn't have given them anything because they are only going to get drunk by purchasing more cans of liquor!!

I just couldn't understand why they would really say that, is it because people just look for an excuse not to give ?
For me the way I saw it was that I am giving A to B. Now, what B does after and which C he gives it to,whether its more liquor or real food is really up to him. B to C should have no impact on my good deed should it ?

I am simply taking care of A to B as that is what is expected from me and that is what the Lord sees. -That's what I always felt really mattered as I shouldn't be thinking any good or bad of him whether he thanks me by using it or abusing it.

We should see it as a duty when we are confronted with such situations not make excuses, even if they are valid.
 

findingmyway

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Anyway, my point is that I would very often give them five pounds or some loose change and tell them to get a decent meal. Many times I would be ridiculed and accused by my friends and other fellows that I shouldn't have given them anything because they are only going to get drunk by purchasing more cans of liquor!!

I just couldn't understand why they would really say that, is it because people just look for an excuse not to give ?
For me the way I saw it was that I am giving A to B. Now, what B does after and which C he gives it to,whether its more liquor or real food is really up to him. B to C should have no impact on my good deed should it ?

I am simply taking care of A to B as that is what is expected from me and that is what the Lord sees. -That's what I always felt really mattered as I shouldn't be thinking any good or bad of him whether he thanks me by using it or abusing it.

They are not always excuses but another way of looking at things. I never give money but too give food. Money can be abused. If you are giving, my view is to give something sustaining, something useful. Enabling an alcohol or drug habit or any other habit is no longer doing seva. I am not advocating not giving but only giving responsibly. Giving money is easy but serving people is tough. IMHO giving is not just giving but comes with its own responsibilities and I learnt this lesson forcibly when working in Malawi :2cents:
 

Ambarsaria

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findingmyway ji I much agree with you. I will cite a personal experience.
... I am not advocating not giving but only giving responsibly. ...
I used to work downtown Toronto, Canada. It was not very common at the time to see any Asian let alone Punjabi type people on the street begging or asking for money. I was approached by a gentleman. He begged of me to give him some money as he did not have enough to eat or fare for the subway with some comment about leaving the wallet home. He looked little ragged and disjointed and not much different from addicts around the area.

I told him to come lunch with me and that I will buy whatever he wanted to eat. He refused.

He said just give me money for the Subway/Transportation. I offered him Subway/transportation token and told him that I will go to the station and pay his fare with the necessary transportation token.
He refused that offer.

We parted our ways.

I did not feel good but I did not want to see him drunk/lying around high on drugs/etc. Did I play God in this case? I don't believe I did. I never saw him again around that area.

So I do believe we need to be responsible in taking and giving to the best of our abilities. Good giving may lead somebody turning the corner, getting even better than the giver and so on. I do recognize it can be tough at times.

Sat Sri Akal.
 

kds1980

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Nice story but unfortunately these stories are not applicable in world.They are just to please the mind and feel good.Behind every successful nation ,culture , religion , business houses etc there is/was evil .Just remove that evil and there will be no success.
 

Luckysingh

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They are not always excuses but another way of looking at things. I never give money but too give food. Money can be abused. If you are giving, my view is to give something sustaining, something useful. Enabling an alcohol or drug habit or any other habit is no longer doing seva. I am not advocating not giving but only giving responsibly. Giving money is easy but serving people is tough. IMHO giving is not just giving but comes with its own responsibilities and I learnt this lesson forcibly when working in Malawi :2cents:

That's a good point and that is what should be done if you can.
My exampe above was one where I was unable to go and purchase food for the person as I would be with a number of friends walking to the cab stop or similar. In that case I only had a few seconds to a minute to spare and some money in my pocket.
My pont is that although I just had his very limited time, I tried to make the most of it by giving some money rather than refusing to give anything.

In these cases, is it not better to give if you can rather than avoid because you don't have the chance or time to purchase food for them?

Anyway, nowadays there have been many instances where I will be going into Tim hortons or starbucks and I come across a homeless. I often ask what hot drink and little snack they would like and they always say.
I come out with a hot drink and a little sandwich for them and a drink for myself, however I sometimes feel that I can do more than that or I don't feel that I have stretched myself far enough.
So very often I will give them a few dollars as well so that they don't have to sit out in the cold begging for the evening meal.
 

BhagatSingh

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Ambarsaria ji,
My experience is a bit different. There was a guy in Toronto who stood in front of Tim Hortons and I always used to bump into him. One day I asked him if he was hungry. He said he was starving so I got him a sandwich from Subway. Then for the next few months whenever I saw him there, I would do the same. One day he said to me he needs money not food, and I asked for what? and he made a cigarette gesture with his hand. I paused for a moment, the mind became still, I found myself giving him the money.

What is the difference between a drug and food if the body feels like it needs them both and feels like it can't live without them? IMO for me and everyone I know food is an addiction but no one will admit this.
 

Harry Haller

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What is the difference between a drug and food if the body feels like it needs them both and feels like it can't live without them?

drugs do more damage than food, if you are an addict, then each day without drugs makes you feel exponentially better. The first day is hard, the second day is a little easier, by the third day, you feel a different person, give it a week, you wonder what all the fuss was about.

By this thinking, those that are addicted to drugs, sex, booze, gambling, are no different to those that are hungry. This is not the case, the former are not needed, in fact they detract from living, the latter are needed to survive.
 

kds1980

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Ambarsaria ji,
My experience is a bit different. There was a guy in Toronto who stood in front of Tim Hortons and I always used to bump into him. One day I asked him if he was hungry. He said he was starving so I got him a sandwich from Subway. Then for the next few months whenever I saw him there, I would do the same. One day he said to me he needs money not food, and I asked for what? and he made a cigarette gesture with his hand. I paused for a moment, the mind became still, I found myself giving him the money.

What is the difference between a drug and food if the body feels like it needs them both and feels like it can't live without them? IMO for me and everyone I know food is an addiction but no one will admit this.

Tasty food is addiction not the normal one.

1) Food you are eating for survival

2) Food you are eating for health , body building

3)Tasty food

In the above tasty food is addiction
 

Luckysingh

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Food and drugs are two different entities. The food is required for long term survival, whereas drugs have been introduced to the body to invoke similar demands.

It seems out of place to say that both these needs are on par for maintenance and survival, but I can sense that Bhagatji was talking about that 'Moment of need'.
I would agree at that moment of the day when one craves food because of hunger and bodily sugar needs etc... is in the same way the body of a drug user craves the next fix or dose.
So there is a similarity in the craving and 'need' at that moment when one's body demands such.
In this respect, we have to remember that when an addict is wanting his next fix, that is ALL that matters to him for his continued survival.
His primary focus is on nothing else, even though he may need some glucose and food later on in the day but at that 'moment in need' he ONLY wants the next fix and nothing else.
The similarity is that a hungery body would also just want something to bite and swallow in their 'moment of need'. Their focus also would be on nothing else but to have some food in their mouth immediately.

The demands are different and have different effects on the body whilst fulfilling different purposes, BUT the 'NEEDS' for the person at those times are very similar in that their immediate future survival for next few hours or day depend on that very Need and demand.

Although food has the potential for our very survival it also has a factor of addiction in this sense, so that creation makes sure we do infact get it.
 

BhagatSingh

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Lucky Singh ji you read my mind! "but I can sense that..." :singhbhangra:
I mean I have studied Psychopharmacology so I am definitely not suggesting drugs = food. Haha No, I am talking about the craving aspect and lived experience of it. The lived experience of ingesting them, is actually quite the same, and that this desire is part of our set of desires. And it is not justified by the need for survival, which is actually present in all desires. If they are not fulfilled we feel like we won't survive so we try to put them out. This analogous to sex with condoms and birth control. Survival has nothing to do with that when you use birth control, it's all desire at this point.

I mean how much of the food we eat is actually used in our survival and how much is simply wasted energy? I cannot even begin to answer this question. When Guru Granth Sahib says eat little and sleep little, it really puts everything in perspective.

We have to remember that Maya is our mother, but we have to leave (read:transcend) her nest at some point. Hunger for food is part of that nest.

I think Harry ji and Kds ji make good points above.

Harry said:
if you are an addict, then each day without drugs [read: desire for food] makes you feel exponentially better. The first day is hard, the second day is a little easier, by the third day, you feel a different person, give it a week, you wonder what all the fuss was about.
This is how spiritually elevated beings describe it when they get over their desire for food.
 

kds1980

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I mean how much of the food we eat is actually used in our survival and how much is simply wasted energy? I cannot even begin to answer this question. When Guru Granth Sahib says eat little and sleep little, it really puts everything in perspective.

We have to remember that Maya is our mother, but we have to leave (read:transcend) her nest at some point. Hunger for food is part of that nest.

Disagree with it.We actually need very little food for survival but to be in in good health we need plenty.One thing I have observed in in lower working class of Indians is that they eat very little food even when they are earning decently .May be not much money in their at early stages of life make them to have a little appetite .This makes them quite weak .

Infact the communities which are known as foodies are quite strong compared to others.So actually habit of eating more food is very good.Ofcourse this is not applicable on obese :grinningsingh:
 

BhagatSingh

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Disagree with it.We actually need very little food for survival but to be in in good health we need plenty.One thing I have observed in in lower working class of Indians is that they eat very little food even when they are earning decently .May be not much money in their at early stages of life make them to have a little appetite .This makes them quite weak .

Infact the communities which are known as foodies are quite strong compared to others.So actually habit of eating more food is very good.Ofcourse this is not applicable on obese :grinningsingh:
Lol agreed, so how much food do we need to survive, how much do we need for good health and how much do we waste? I would change the question to that.

I agree with you there I also think Indians eat less compared to their physical activity on the job. They could certainly benefit from eating more.
I am not talking about that kind of eating little. But what I am talking about is the control over one's desires, over Mother's influences. Those Indians you talk about aren't displaying this control when they eat less. There is evidence of control when you could go on a hunger strike for 40 days like Shaheed Bhagat Singh did. Now I am not suggesting we go on hunger strike, I am suggesting we learn to control.
 

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