No doubt the world saw me as a successful person because whatever I touched turned to gold. There was success and more success. But the world did not understand the secret of my success. To me, the secret was simple – it was based on the universal law of Karma – As you sow, so shall you reap. What you give is what you will get.
From my first success, whatever I made, I gave a lot of it away. Somehow, I did not have the habit of being selfish, hoarding and storing my wealth. I don't even know why I gave, because it started when I was a child. Today, I feel grateful that I was blessed to give, for I realize that it is in giving that we receive. One thing is sure, my success was fuelled by my giving. The deeds of charity and service undoubtedly became the seeds that created the roots of success, the shoots of prosperity and the fruits of wealth and happiness.
I gave to everybody I could, not just my family and friends. But to strangers as well. I would give my love to old people, who needed help to cross the street. I would share my meals, with those who worked in our household. When I started earning, I shared my income with the poor and the underprivileged who were sleeping on the streets. What I am sharing is not some theory. It is my personal experience that the more I gave, the more I received. In fact, I received much more than what I gave away.
My giving continued as my success hit the skies. I made millions, but I also gave away millions. It had become an automatic circle of my life. I experienced great joy in giving and this inspired me to give more and more
From my initial business success, I set up a humanitarian trust. Our goal was to pick up people from the street and put them back on their feet. Some people had not eaten for days. They would have died. It was through Divine intervention that the team in our Trust, which was full of people with compassion and humanitarian hearts, was led to serve the destitute and the downtrodden. We found beggars on the street, and we set up small shops for them and provided them with merchandise to sell so that they did not have to beg for a living. When houses were ravaged by rains, we would reconstruct the roofs of the houses of the poor. We did anything and everything possible to serve the needy.
I was barely 30 when I started a weekly 'Giving day'. Every Monday, I would sit and wait for people to come to me with their problems and their needs. I would personally listen to their stories and try to find a way to help them. We helped thousands of people live with dignity and respect. We gave medicines to the poor, just as we funded their surgeries and treatment.
As we did this, we realized that the existing charitable homes had limitations. They had too many conditions for admission and did not admit all those who needed support. We found a child who was both mentally and physically challenged. Since we supported and sponsored several charitable institutions, we approached them for admission. One said that they could only take care of the physically challenged,
As we did this, we realized that the existing charitable homes had limitations. They had too many conditions for admission and did not admit all those who needed support. We found a child who was both mentally and physically challenged. Since we supported and sponsored several charitable institutions, we approached them for admission. One said that they could only take care of the physically challenged, while another institution stated that they could take care of only those who were mentally challenged. We were left helpless and hopeless.
We decided to set up our own humanitarian home. We bought a piece of land and constructed a 100-bed home. We had a few cases that could not find admission in any charitable institution. A poor maid servant had a child, and she approached a charitable mission. They refused to accept the child, until she promised never to see the child again. Sobbing and crying, she brought the child to us. Hundreds of such cases, of people who are turned away at charitable homes, still come to us. We admit them in one of our 3 charitable homes. We have about 700 people staying with us. We look after them, providing food, clothing, medicines and love and care. They are our family!
Where did the money come from? I don't even know. All I know, is that when we wanted the money, it was always there. There was never a time when we were short of funds. Even today, we spend millions to serve the poor, and while there are several supporters and donors who contribute to this mammoth but humble effort, it was 'giving', for sure, that led to us receiving the funds and the support we needed to make all this possible. While I gave a lot to the destitute, I also wanted to do something for God. At that time, I was deeply religious, and my faith in my God made me build a 65-foot statue of my Lord. Little did I realize that trying to give for my God's temple would become another source of getting resources to do bigger charitable projects.
The 'Giving' journey has never stopped. I have evolved from a religious to a spiritual person, and my transformation has led to my metamorphosis. I continue to lead the charitable and other organizations that I have set up. But personally what I now give to others are my Realizations. I give away books, just as I give away a lot of innovative merchandise that can help people realize the truth about life. While I can't 'give' Enlightenment to others, I give talks and provide answers to questions that can help people on the ultimate journey of Self- Realization, Enlightenment, Liberation and Unification with the Divine. This is the mission of my life.
If I reflect upon my life, I am grateful for all the blessings I have received. I realize that in the beginning, it was Karma, the Law that was working. But I went beyond doing good Karma to becoming a Karma Yogi. I realized that every creature whether a human being or a beast, was nothing but a manifestation of the Divine. I experienced God as SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power in one and all and so, I served not the bodies that were suffering, but the temple that housed the Soul that was none other than the Supreme Immortal Power. This made me a Karma Yogi, one who is ever united with the Divine, through acts of good deeds or Karma.
Right from the beginning, I knew nothing is mine, that we come empty-handed and we leave empty-handed. I was blessed to live with detachment and even today, I try to give away as much as I can. I even realize that I don't give, these hands are not mine. I am just an instrument of the Divine. It is the Divine will that causes the 'giving' through my hands. It may appear that I give, but in reality, all 'giving' is that of the Divine. If only we realize this, and we live and give, we can not only enjoy the blessings of the Supreme that will liberate us from the triple suffering on earth but ultimately, we will be united with the Divine as we are liberated from rebirth.
We may pray to a God, but we do not realize that God is not God. God is SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power, in you and me. We are ignorant about this truth and thus refrain from giving while living. If only we realize that we are nothing, and we realize that we are all part of that one Supreme Immortal Power SIP, we would give everything away. Somehow, the body, mind and ego, keeps us trapped in ignorance and we do not realize that we come with nothing, and we will go with nothing. The ego makes us believe that I am 'I' and this is mine. I was lucky to realize that nothing is mine. Everything is thine! Even I am thine! With this Divine revelation, my life has evolved to where it is today. I hope that I continue to give as I live and when that day comes when it is time to go and I hear the death whistle blow, I should have given away everything that I have. My aspiration is to Give before I am Gone, so that I become one with the Divine and I am not reborn.
