Act of Benevolence

There is a saying in classical Indian poetry that a lake, a tree, a saint and the rain are all symbols of benevolence, i.e., they are constantly giving to others. If we spend some time to think about this, we can learn much about the act of benevolence from such elements of nature.

You may ask how can we learn to give from a mere tree? There is a wonderful story, which is a true incident that took place in Saurashtra, that best illustrates this.

One day, the King of Bhavnagar was relaxing in the garden surrounding his palace. There was a high boundary wall separating the garden from the outside road. Just at that time, a poor Brahmin and his young son were walking on the road. It was very hot, and the young child was extremely hungry. He noticed a high mango tree from beyond the palace garden wall. The tree had bent across the wall and there were ripe mangoes on the outstretched branch.

Forced by temptation, the boy picked up a stone from the road and threw it at the stem of the fruits. His aim succeeded and he caught a beautiful ripe mango. Unfortunately, the stone exceeded the target and struck the King who was sitting in the gardens. The stone hit the Kings head, which began to bleed. The guards quickly ran towards the road and caught the young Brahmin boy and his father.

When presented in front of the King, the Brahmin, trembling with fear, began to beg to the King to pardon the boy for his mistake. Soldiers and ministers laughed at the Brahmin’s request and advised the King to punish them both.

The King politely asked them both not to worry. He asked the young boy "Did you throw the stone, my son?"
The boy immediately accepted his fault with tears in his eyes.
The King then asked "Why?"
The boy replied hesitantly, "I was hungry. I threw the stone to drop a mango from the tree."
"What happened when you threw the stone?" asked the King.
"A mango fell from the tree. This is what I have in my hand. Please forgive me. I did not throw the stone to hit you."

The King immediately ordered his prime minister that both father and son be released and additionally be given 500 coins! All the ministers and soldiers were surprised and wandered why the King was rewarding them instead of ordering punishment! The King was amused to see their astonishment and explained with a smile, ”When the stone struck the tree, it gave the boy a mango. The same stone struck me. Wouldn’t I be meaner than a tree if I did not give anything? If a mere tree can be benevolent to a young boy, why cannot I, a human being, do the same?

Such are the lessons we can learn from simple elements of nature that constantly give us all we need without any expectation or hesitation. The sun, the mountains, the rivers and lakes, the earth and the wind: they are beautiful symbols of benevolence. Perhaps we too can evolve to become symbols of benevolence.