The joy of giving

Away to eliminate greed is to analyse its cost to our soul. An anecdote from the life of Abou ben Adhem illustrates this point. Abou ben Adhem (known as Ebrahim ibn Adhem) was the king of Balkh when an incident occurred that aroused self-searching about his aim in life. While sitting on his throne with his ministers on either side, he gave audience to the masses. Suddenly, a man approached him. He had such a terrifying expression that even the king’s ministers did not want to look at this stranger. “What do you want?” asked Abou.

“I am only stopping off at this inn,” replied the stranger.

“This is not an inn. This is my palace. You must be a madman,” replied the king. “Who owned this palace before you?” asked the man. “My father,” said Abou.

“And who owned it before him?” asked the man.

“My grandfather,” responded Abou. The dialogue proceeded further with the stranger continuing to ask who owned the palace prior to the last one mentioned.

Finally, the stranger said, “To where have all these owners departed?” “They are all dead,” said Abou. ‘Then,” concluded the stranger, “is this not an inn in which one person enters and another leaves?” With this statement, the stranger disappeared. This exchange initiated Abou ben Adhem on his search for God, as he realised that the things of this world were transitory and that what was more important to him was finding his soul and God. Sant Rajinder Singhji, head of Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission, works towards promoting inner and outer peace. He can be contacted at www.sos.org