February 2013 | Vol.

5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

In this Issue
FDI ~ 50TH ISSUE
On the occasion of 50th issue of FDI

Charity, Philanthropy and Giving

Editorial

The Future of Corporate Philanthropy

Three domains which need priority funding in the future.

Inner Dimensions of Giving

Transforming the consciousness of the giver.

The Law of Sacrifice

Great cosmic law which demands giving.

The Science of Charity

Laws and principles of right giving.

Changing the World from Within

Deeper spiritual perspectives from a modern Indian sage.

The Supreme Charity

Highest form of charity.

Half a Mango
A heart-warming story on giving.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

FDI ~ 50TH ISSUE

FDI Team Dear Readers, This is the 50th issue of FDI. We have launched this e-magazine with an aspiration to bring higher values to the corporate world with an emphasis on the spiritual, the fourth dimension of our being beyond our physical, vital and mental self. Our aim is not to reach a large audience but to touch those who have a corresponding aspiration and feel the need of something beyond the material and the mundane. Our issues are thematic with each issue covering a contemporary need in management, with articles which provide in-depth understanding of the subject and appropriate methodologies for internalising and living the ideas in our consciousness and life. We are happy to say that we have received a very good response from our discerning readers. On the occasion of this 50th issue we are presenting here a list of 50 articles which we regard as the best with links to them. We will be putting 10 articles in each forthcoming issue.

1. Knowing Our Consciousness:

How to become conscious of our consciousness and its instruments.

2. The Faculties of Consciousness:

Powers within us

3. Organising Our Consciousness:

How to bring order into our consciousness.

4. The Technology of Consciousness:

Some fascinating future possibilities in the power of consciousness over matter.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

5. The Higher Ranges of Consciousness:

There are many mansions in my Fathers kingdom, said Jesus Christ. Here is a brief outline of the mansions of consciousness beyond the ordinary mentality and how to come into contact with them.

6. Stepping Back:
First step to self-mastery

7. Self-government:
Guidelines for Self-Assessment: assessing self-management.

8. People: The Ultimate Bottom line:

How to tap their higher potential

9. The Higher Laws of Human Growth:

There are two types of growth: First one brings greater efficiency and the other leads to higher consciousness. A well-known spiritual teacher describes in inspired words some of the laws of this higher growth.

10. Interpersonal Harmony: A Psychological Perspective:

The foundations of collective living and sources of inner harmony in a community.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

Charity, Philanthropy and Giving

Editorial
Philanthropy and Charity are great civilizational forces. They are part of our higher instincts and a productive force for our inner growth as well as our outer progress. The essence of philanthropy is the Act of Giving which is in harmony with the higher laws of life and Nature. What are these higher laws? The modern science in physics and ecology, has perceived a connectedness and interdependence in the physical and biological Nature. The ancient Indian seers perceived a unity of consciousness as the foundation of all creation. What are the practical consequences of this law for behaviour, conduct and action? In a life-system governed by the laws of unity and interdependence, growth, success or happiness in the long-term goes not to the selfish and possessive taker but to the unselfish and ungrudging Giver. Grow by giving is the great law of Life. The concept of entropy in modern science can perhaps help us to understand better the need for giving. According to thermodynamics, a closed system is subject to the law of entropy, which means progressive degeneration. In a closed system all energies tend towards maximum disintegration in the course of time. A human system which doesnt give freely to the larger life, of which it is a part, is a closed system subject to the law of entropy. It is the act of unselfish giving which opens the human system to the higher and positive forces of life which counteracts entropy and helps it to progress towards greater harmony and order. Philanthropy and charity, individual and corporate, to realise their full moral and spiritual potential, have to be based on these higher laws of life. The act of giving has to undergo an inner as well as outer transformation. Externally it has to become more enlightened, discriminating and efficient, a creative deployment of resources for enhancing the inner and outer well-being of humanity and earth. Internally, it has to flow out from a corresponding inner state of giving in thought and feeling, which in turn has to be a spontaneous expression of the inner realisation of unity. This unselfish self-giving in thought, feeling and action, flowing out from a consciousness of spiritual unity, is the essence of pure, highest, universal Love. In other words, philanthropy and charity attains its highest spiritual potential when they blossom into universal Love and Compassion flowing from a consciousness of Oneness of all life.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

The Future of Corporate Philanthropy

M.S. Srinivasan There are three areas which need priority funding in the future: first environmental sustainability; second, poverty and inequality or what is now called as inclusive growth; third is inner growth in the moral, psychological and spiritual dimensions.

Key Perspectives
Imperatives of Sustainability; inclusive Growth; inner Progress.

The Imperatives of Sustainability

The scientific opinion is almost unanimous that at present our humanity is facing an extremely challenging ecological crisis. As environmentalist, George Monbiot sums up the scientific opinion: Quietly in public, loudly in private, climate scientists are saying the same thing. Its over. The years in which more than 2 degree celsius of global warning could have been prevented have passed, the opportunities squandered by denial and delay. On current trajectories we will be lucky to get away with 4 degree celsius. Mitigation (limiting greenhouse gas pollution) has failed. Now we must adapt to what nature sends our way, if we can. (George. M, 2008) The corporate mind tends to view the ecological crisis as a business opportunity and as a means for enhancing the bottom line. For, according to many corporate pundits, Greening the planet is likely to be the most profitable growth industry of the future. And many of the ecological practices like energy-conservation are found to be money saving. But the present condition of our planet demands this commercial attitude to be entirely subordinated to an overarching sense of moral responsibility for the well-being of the planet. The present critical ecological situation of our planet requires unprecedented and selfless cooperation between government, business, finance, industry,

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

NGOs and various scientific and technological disciplines or institutions. Such selflessness and cooperation cannot be generated by market-oriented commercial approach. It needs a unifying moral force and purpose. So, investments in sustainability have to be undertaken with a philanthropic motive and not with an eye on bottom line or return or investment. There must be a free, unreserved, massive flow of funds for enhancing the ecological sustainability with no other consideration than the survival and well-being of our humane race and our planet. There are many areas of research and development related to sustainability like for example fusion technology, carbon absorption technology, nuclear waste disposal and alternative energy sources which need such philanthropic funding. In this task, those individual, groups and nations who have the funds or the technology have to act with great responsibility, generosity and selflessness. For example, rich nations of the world have a great responsibility to bear the cost of combating climate change and help the poor nations in this crucial task. As George Monbiot states: Oxfam has made a compelling case for how adaptation (to climate change) should be funded: nations should pay according to the amount of carbon they produce per capita, coupled with their position on the human development index. On this basis, the US should supply more than 40 percent of the money and the European Union over 30 percent with Japan, Canada, Australia and Korea making up the balance. But what are the chances of getting them to cough up? (George. M, 2008) This principle applies in general to the corporate world as a whole, which consumes tremendous energy and resources and produces harmful emissions and wastes in a large scale. Companies should never hesitate to spend money in making their unit more and more eco-friendly and do this work as a selfless service to Mother Nature and with a sense of responsibility to the planet.

Inclusive Growth
The other area, which needs priority attention, is poverty and inequality, which still remains as a major problem and challenge facing humanity. There is a growing consensus between economist and other discerning thinkers that globalization has benefited only the rich and the upper middle class and those sections of the society in the lower levels of the income pyramid remain untouched by the globalization. There are studies, which say that globalization has accentuated inequality. Most of the philanthropic activity of the past in the domain of poverty-alleviation is in the form of charity. But in the future philanthropy must rise beyond signing a check or pumping money. This is now recognized in management thought and development studies. There is at present a growing recognition among development thinkers that Poverty-alleviation has to be viewed in a more holistic perspective as a movement or process for enhancing the physical quality of life of people and their material, economic and social well being which includes factors like health, nutrition, employability, education, skill-development, gender equity, empowerment of people (especially of women), building the infrastructure like roads, communication and above all ecological sustainability. The corporate world, while implementing CSR projects, must take into consideration this new and emerging perception on poverty-alleviation or community development, especially eco-friendly economic development. In terms of financial management, this broader vision of development requires creative use of funds with right priorities and a clear understanding of the aims.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

In this task of inclusive growth, philanthropy has to go beyond sharing of wealth to building the capacity to create wealth among the poor, which means not merely giving money, but sharing of knowledge, skill and expertise. Among business leader J.R.D. Tata had this more enlightened conception of philanthropy. He said: Every company has a special continuing responsibility towards the people of the area in which it is located. The company should spare its engineers, doctors, managers to advise the people and supervise new developments undertaken by cooperative effort between them and the company. (Lala, R.M., 1992) This brings us to another important idea, which is emerging in modern management thought. The old idea of giving is charity. The new idea is that philanthropy has to be done with as much efficiency, productivity and planning as with the pursuit of bottom-line goals like profit or quality. Bill Gates, writing on his philosophy of charity states, I believe in bringing the discipline of business to the art of giving which means doing as much as possible with each dollar. (Gates B, 1999) This idea has far-reaching implications for philanthropy. It will bring all the efficiency, creativity and innovativeness of the professional mind into the art of giving.

The Inner Progress

The third domain of the future is inner growth. As a civilization we have hit the limits of quantitative and material growth and hovering over a precipice. If we blindly pursue this type of growth any more, we will topple down into the abyss. The multitude of problems and shocks we are facing today are warnings given by Nature telling us, My dear children, stop, reflect and change course, if you want to survive as a civilization and not disappear like some of the legendary civilization of the past, as evolutionary failures. We have to change course and turn towards a more qualitative and inward growth. This is also the reason why there is at present a widespread seeking for inner fulfillment in the moral, psychological and spiritual domains all over the world an in every section of the society. This inner growth is not as much capital intensive as the outer growth. But still, all activities, institutions and experiments, which promote this inner growth, especially in the field of education, require generous funding from government, business and philanthropy. Moreover, in the collective dimension, the inner growth requires creating an outer organization or environment favourable to this growth and also expresses it in the outer life, in work, and action. This requires new experiments in community building, which also require funding.

The author is a Research Associate at Sri Aurobindo Society and on the editorial board of Fourth Dimension Inc. His major areas of interest are Management and Indian Culture.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

Inner Dimensions of Giving

Nivas Philanthropy or Charity has two dimensions: the outer act and the inner motive. The highest potentialities of philanthropy cannot be realized without understanding the inner dimension of the philanthropic motive in man and an inner transformation of the act of giving. This aspect of philanthropy belongs more to the individual giver than that of the corporate. But ultimately individual leaders like Bill Gates or Carnegies take the corporate philanthropic decisions. So an inner transformation in the motives of philanthropic leaders of business is bound to have its positive impact on corporate philanthropy.
The philanthropic urge is a natural instinct of the higher nature in man. But in the average philanthropic mentality this urge is full of ego; it gives not for the sake of others but for the personal satisfaction and aggrandizement of the moral ego. As Sri Aurobindo points out: ...charity and altruism are often essentially egoistic in their immediate motive. They are stirred by the discomfort of the sight of suffering to the nervous system or by the pleasurableness of others appreciation of our kindliness or by the egoistic self-appreciation of our own benevolence or by the need of indulgence in sympathy. There are philanthropists who would be troubled if the poor were not always with us, for they would then have no field for their charity. (Sri Aurobindo) However one may ask, after all the corporate giver is not a yogi or a saint, so what is wrong in having this ego as long as it is beneficial to the society? Nothing wrong. But the higher moral and spiritual possibilities and potentialities of philanthropy cannot be fully realized as long as it is driven by a self-serving ego. To know why it is so we have to understand the nature of the ego and the limitations it imposes on our higher possibilities. According to Indian spiritual tradition ego is not our true self; it is a narrow, limited, partial and shadowy expression of our higher self, which lives in a consciousness of infinite and universal being, awareness, force and delight and oneness with all creation.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

Our ego limits and confines our consciousness into a narrow psychological prison in which we are shut off from our higher potentialities. It limits our being, consciousness, creative force and delight and therefore restricts our capacity for understanding, awareness, expansion, creativity, joy, love; it veils from us the consciousness of unity of all existence and therefore limits our capacity for identification with others, sympathy, selflessness, self-giving and true love. Ego is a helper in our evolutionary upto a certain stage; it helps us to emerge from subconscious immersion in the collective mass toward self-conscious individuality. But once this individuality is reasonably well formed, ego becomes an obstacle to realize our higher potentialities. A well-developed philanthropic instinct, which wants to give and help others and the world, indicates a well-developed mental, moral or emotional individuality. In fact, this urge to give or help comes from a more or less subconscious awareness of the unity and interdependence of life. To progress further, this urge for giving has to become more and more conscious of its spiritual source. To achieve this inner awakening we have to pursue an inner discipline, which has three aspects. The first one is to reject all negative feelings like anger, jealousy, greed and lust, which erect a dark, thick and painful wall between others and us. The second part of the discipline is to consciously and deliberately cultivate positive thoughts and feelings, which lead to a sympathetic identification with others like kindness, generosity, forgiveness, and understanding. We must note here benevolence should not be confined to a small section of the poor and oppressed; it must extend to embrace the people around us in the family, workplace and the community and expand further to embrace all humanity. But if we are generous only to the poor and oppressed but cold indifferent, callous or full of negative feeling for people around us in the work-place or family, it is not benevolence but pity, which is a low feeling that has no value for our moral and spiritual growth. The third part of the discipline is to progressively eliminate all forms self-seeking from our thought, feeling, will, actions and also from our ethical impulses. As we progress in this discipline, we become more and more inwardly and intuitively aware of the unity underlying all creation. As a result, we perceive concretely that when we give for the well-being and progress of others we are giving to a part of our own universal self, which returns upon us to enrich our own being. Thus we understand that to grow by giving is the great law of life. This leads to a spiritual pragmatism in the act of giving, which while giving freely, selflessly and without expecting anything in return, also knows that the law of unity rewards the giver generously in the long-term. When this intuitive understanding of the law of unity enters into the heart it leads to an all-embracing universal love. When our outer acts of giving proceed spontaneously from this inner realization of unity and love then our philanthropies and charities attain the highest level of moral and spiritual creativity. The joy of giving becomes full and perfect and therefore no seeking for any inner or outer rewards. And the mind of the giver is illumined with a spiritual insight, which indicates what is the best way to give, which will lead to the highest well being for the largest number of people.

The author is a student and practitioner in the path of integral yoga.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

The Law of Sacrifice

Sri Aurobindo Why should we give? Because the highest laws of life demands sacrifice, which means giving to the divine oneness or the Universal Life. If we refuse to do it, Nature extracts it from us, painfully. If we do it gladly with a deep understanding of the law, it leads to joyful progress.
The Law of sacrifice is the common divine action that was thrown out into the world in its beginning as a symbol of the solidarity of the universe. It is by the attraction of this law that a divinising principle, a saving power descends to limit and correct and gradually to eliminate the errors of an egoistic and self-divided creation. *** The acceptance of the law of sacrifice is a practical recognition by the ego that it is neither alone in the world nor chief in the world. It is its admission that, even in this much fragmented existence, there is beyond itself and behind that which is not its own egoistic person, something greater and completer, a diviner All which demands from it subordination and service. Indeed, sacrifice is imposed and, where need be, compelled by the universal WorldForce; it takes it even from those who do not consciously recognise the law, - inevitably, because this is the intrinsic nature of things. Our ignorance or our false egoistic view of life can make no difference to this eternal bedrock truth of Nature. For this is the truth in Nature, that this ego which thinks itself a separate independent being and claims to live for itself, is not and cannot be independent nor separate, nor can it live to itself even if it would, but rather all are linked together by a secret Oneness. *** Each existence is continually giving out perforce from its stock; out of its mental receipts from Nature or its vital and physical assets and acquisitions and belongings a stream goes to all that is around it. And always again it receives something from its environment gratis or in return for its voluntary or involuntary tribute. For it is only by this giving and receiving that it can affect its own growth while at the same time it helps the sum of things.

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At length, though at first slowly and partially, we learn to make the conscious sacrifice; even, in the end, we take joy to give ourselves and what we envisage as belonging to us in a spirit of love and devotion to that which appears for the moment other than ourselves and is certainly other than our limited personalities. The sacrifice and the divine return for our sacrifice then become a gladly accepted means towards our last perfection; for it is recognised now as the road to the fulfillment in us of the eternal purpose. *** But, most often, the sacrifice is done unconsciously, egoistically and without knowledge or acceptance of the true meaning of the great world-rite. It is so that the vast majority of earth creatures do it; and, when it is so done, the individual derives only a mechanical minimum of natural inevitable profit, achieves by it only a slow painful progress limited and tortured by the smallness and suffering of the ego. Only when the heart, the will and the mind of knowledge associate themselves with the law and gladly follow it, can there come the deep joy and the happy fruitfulness of divine sacrifice. The minds knowledge of the law and the hearts gladness in it culminate in the perception that it is to our own Self and Spirit and the one Self and Spirit of all that we give. And this is true even when our self-offering is still to our fellow-creatures or to lesser Powers and Principles and not yet to the Supreme. Not for the sake of the wife, says Yajnavalkya in the Upanishad, but for the sake of the Self is the wife dear to us.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

The Science of Charity

The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The true science of charity lies in knowing how to channelise and distribute the universal forces for the well-being of all.
At present charity is considered almost exclusively from the external standpoint and the word is synonymous with the sharing of part of ones possessions with lifes rejects. We shall see in a moment how mean this conception is even when confined to the purely material field. The three other modes of action of charity are admirably summed up in this counsel given by the Buddha to his disciples: With your hearts overflowing with compassion, go forth into this world torn by pain, be instructors, and wherever the darkness of ignorance rules, there light a torch. To instruct those who know less, to give to those who do evil the strength to come out of their error, to console those who suffer, these are all occupations of charity rightly understood. Thus charity, regarded from the individual point of view, consists, for each one, of giving to others all they need, in proportion to ones means. This brings us to two observations. The first is that one cannot give what one does not have at ones command. Materially this is so evident that it is unnecessary to insist upon it. But intellectually, spiritually, the same rule holds true.

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Indeed, how can one teach others what one does not know? How can one guide the weak on the path of wisdom if one does not tread the path oneself? How can one radiate love if one does not possess it within oneself? And the supreme charity, which is integral self-giving to the great work of terrestrial regeneration, implies first of all that one can command what one wants to offer, that is to say, that one is master of oneself. Only he who has perfect self-control can consecrate himself in all sincerity to the great work. For he alone knows that no contrary will, no unexpected impulse can ever again come to impede his action, to check his effort by setting him at variance with himself. In this fact we find the justification of the old proverb which says: Charity begins at home. This maxim seems to encourage every kind of egoism, and yet it is the expression of a great wisdom for one who understands it rightly. It is because charitable people fail to conform to this principle that their efforts so often remain unfruitful, that their goodwill is so often warped in its results, and that, in the end, they are forced to renounce a charity which, because it has not been rightly exercised, is the cause of nothing but confusion, suffering and disillusionment. There is evidently a wrong way of interpreting this maxim, which says, First let us accumulate fortune, intelligence, health, love, energies of all kinds, then we shall distribute them. For, from the material standpoint, when will the accumulation stop? One who acquires the habit of piling up never finds his pile big enough. I have even been led to make an observation about this: that in most men generosity seems to exist in inverse proportion to their pecuniary resources. From observing the way in which workmen, the needy and all the unfortunate act among themselves, I was forced to conclude that the poor are far more charitable, far more prepared to succour their fellow-sufferers than are those more favoured by fortune. There is not enough time to go into the details of all that I have seen, but I assure you that it is instructive. I can, in any case, assure you that if the rich, in proportion to what they have, gave as much as the poor, soon there would no longer be a single starving person in the world. Thus gold seems to attract gold, and nothing would be more fatal than wanting to accumulate riches before distributing them. But also, nothing would be more fatal than a rash prodigality which, from lack of discernment, would squander a fortune without benefiting anyone. Let us never confuse disinterestedness, which is one of the conditions of true charity, with a lack of concern that springs from idle thoughtlessness.

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Let us learn therefore to make judicious use of what we may have or earn while giving the least possible play to our personality and, above all, let us not forget that charity should not be confined to material aid. Nor in the field of forces is it possible to accumulate, for receptivity occurs in proportion to expenditure: the more one expends usefully, the more one makes oneself capable of receiving. Thus the intelligence one can acquire is proportionate to the intelligence one uses. We are formed to manifest a certain quantity of intellectual forces, but if we develop ourselves mentally, if we put our brains to work, if we meditate regularly and above all if we make others benefit by the fruit, however modest, of our efforts, we make ourselves capable of receiving a greater quantity of ever deeper and purer intellectual forces. And the same holds true for love and spirituality. We are like channels: if we do not allow what they have received to pour out freely, not only do they become blocked and no longer receive anything, but what they contain will spoil. If, on the contrary, we allow all this flood of vital, intellectual and spiritual forces to flow abundantly, if by impersonalizing ourselves we know how to connect our little individuality to the great universal current, what we give will be returned to us a hundredfold. To know how not to cut ourselves off from the great universal current, to be a link in the chain which must not be broken, this is the true science, the very key of charity.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

Changing the World from Within

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj The modern secular approach to philanthropy or charity aims at changing the world by outer reformation. But in the eastern spiritual perspective the outer world is a projection or reflection of our inner world. So, lasting change in the outer world around us can be achieved only by a corresponding inner change in our consciousness. This doesnt mean outer change, help or reformation has no value or should not be done. But for an enduring change in the world, it must be based on and proceed from an inner transformation, moving from within outward. Here are some insightful dialogues on this perspective with a modern Indian sage (Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj) referred here as N.M. Questions and comments from others are indicated in italics.
N.M.:You must begin in yourself, with yourself - this is the inexorable law. You cannot change the image without changing the face. First realise that your world is only a reflection of yourself and stop finding fault with the reflection. Attend to yourself, set yourself right - mentally and emotionally. The physical will follow automatically. You talk so much of reforms: economic, social, political. Leave alone the reforms and mind the reformer. What kind of world can a man create who is stupid, greedy, heartless? Q: If we have to wait for a change of heart, we shall have to wait indefinitely. Yours is a counsel of perfection, which is also a counsel of despair. When all are perfect, the world will be perfect. What useless truism! N.M.:I did not say it. I only said: You cannot change the world before changing yourself. I did not say - before changing everybody. It is neither necessary, nor possible to change others. But if you can change yourself you will find that no other change is needed. To change the picture you merely change the film, you do not attack the cinema screen! ***

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Q: Must I wait with helping the world until I reach perfection? N.M.: By all means help the world. You will not help much, but the effort will make you grow. There is nothing wrong in trying to help the world. Q: Surely there were people, common people, who helped greatly. N.M.: When the time comes for the world to be helped, some people are given the will, the wisdom and the power to cause great changes. *** Q: Are you not at all concerned about the state of the world? Look at the horrors in East Pakistan [1971, now Bangla Desh]. Do they not touch you at all? N.M.: I am reading newspapers; I know what is going on! But my reaction is not like yours. You are looking for a cure, while I am concerned with prevention. As long as there are causes, there must also be results. As long as people are bent on dividing and separating, as long as they are selfish and aggressive, such things will happen. If you want peace and harmony in the world, you must have peace and harmony in your hearts and minds. Such change cannot be imposed; it must come from within. Those who abhor war must get war out of their system. Without peaceful people how can you have peace in the world? As long as people are as they are, the world must be as it is. *** Q: When we talk of helping humanity, we mean a struggle against disorder and suffering. N.M.: You merely talk of helping. Have you ever helped, really helped, a single man? Have you ever put one soul beyond the need of further help? Can you give a man character, based on full realisation of his duties and opportunities at least, if not on the insight into his true being? When you do not know what is good for yourself, how can you know what is good for others? *** Q: Our society is based on grabbing, not on sharing. N.M.: By sharing you will change it. Q: I do not feel like sharing. Anyhow, I am being taxed out of my possessions. N.M.: This is not the same as voluntary sharing. Society will not change by compulsion. It requires a change of heart. Understand that nothing is your own, that all belongs to all. Then only society will change.

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Q: One mans understanding will not take the world far. N.M.: The world in which you live will be affected deeply. It will be a healthy and happy world, which will radiate and communicate, increase and spread. The power of a true heart is immense. *** N.M.: Once you are inwardly integrated, outer knowledge comes to you spontaneously. At every moment of your life you know what you need to know. In the ocean of the universal mind all knowledge is contained; it is yours on demand. Most of it you may never need to know but it is yours all the same. As with knowledge, so it is with power. Whatever you feel needs to be done happens unfailingly. No doubt, God attends to this business of managing the universe; but He is glad to have some help. When the helper is selfless and intelligent, all the powers of the universe are for him to command. Q: Even the blind powers of nature? N.M.: There are no blind powers. Consciousness is power. Be aware of what needs be done and it will be done. Only keep alert and quiet. Once you reach your destination and Know your real nature, your existence becomes a blessing to all. You may not know, nor will the world know, yet the help radiates. There are people in the world who do more good than all the statesmen and philanthropists put together. They radiate light and peace with no intention or knowledge. When others tell them about the miracles they worked, they also are wonder struck. Yet, taking nothing as their own, they are neither proud, nor do they crave for reputation. They are just unable to desire anything for themselves, not even the joy of helping others knowing that God is good they are at peace.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

The Supreme Charity

The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
The highest ideal of charity is to be a living example of unconditional love whose very presence transforms life. For there is a force which can be distributed to all, always, provided that it is given in its most impersonal form: this is love, love which contains within itself light and life, that is, all the possibilities of intelligence, health, blossoming. Yes, there is a sublime charity, one which rises from a happy heart, from a serene soul. One who has won inner peace is a herald of deliverance wherever he goes, a bearer of hope and joy. Is not this what poor and suffering humanity needs above all things? Yes, there are certain men whose thoughts are all love, who radiate love, and the mere presence of these individuals is a charity more active, more real than any other. Though they utter no word and make no gesture, yet the sick are relieved, the tormented are soothed, the ignorant are enlightened, the wicked are appeased, those who suffer are consoled and all undergo this deep transformation which will open new horizons to them, enable them to take a step forward which no doubt will be decisive, on the infinite path of progress. These individuals who, out of love, give themselves to all, who become the servants of all, are the living symbols of the supreme Charity. I invite all of you here, my brothers, who aspire to be charitable, to join your thought with mine in expressing this wish: that we may strive to follow their example a little more each day so that we may be like them, in the world, messengers of light and love.

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

Half a Mango
The Mother, Sri Aurobindo Ashram. This story from the Indian sacred lore, told by the Mother to children, conveys that, in giving, what matters is the inner attitude and not the outer gift.
Mother you said, Give all you are, all you have, nothing more is asked of you but also nothing less. What is meant by all you have and all you are? I am going to tell you in what circumstances I wrote this; that will make you understand: Someone wrote to me saying that he was very unhappy, for he longed to have wonderful capacities to put at the disposal of the Divine, for the Realisation, for the Work; and that he also longed to have immense riches to be able to give them, to put them at the feet of the Divine for the Work. So I replied to him that he need not be unhappy, that each one is asked to give what he has, that is, all his possessions whatever they may be, and what he is, that is, all his potentialities - which corresponds to the consecration of ones life and the giving of all ones possessions and that nothing more than this is asked. What you are, give that; what you have, give that, and your gift will be perfect; from the spiritual point of view it will be perfect. This does not depend upon the amount of wealth you have or the number of capacities in your nature; it depends upon the perfection of your gift, that is to say, on the totality of your gift. I remember having read, in a book of Indian legends, a story like this. There was a very poor, very old woman who had nothing, who was quite destitute, who lived in a miserable little hut, and who had been given a fruit. It was a mango. She had eaten half of it and kept the other half for the next day, because it was something so marvellous that she did not often happen to get it - a mango. And then, when night fell, someone knocked at the rickety door and asked for hospitality. And this someone came in and told her he wanted shelter and was hungry. So she said to him, Well, I have no fire to warm you, I have no blanket to cover you, and I have half a mango left, that is all I have, if you want it; I have eaten half of it. And it turned out that this someone was Shiva, and that she was filled with an inner glory, for she had made a perfect gift of herself and all she had. I read that, I found it magnificent. Well, yes, this describes it vividly. Its exactly that....

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February 2013 | Vol.5, Issue 3 | A Monthly EJournal

And the beauty of the story I told you - moreover, there are many others like it here - is just this, that when the old woman gave, she didnt know that it was Shiva. She gave to the passing beggar, for the joy of doing good, of giving, not because he was a god and she hoped to have salvation or some knowledge in exchange.

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