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Sat Nam.
I’d like to share an experience I had several years ago concerning the concept of giving.
Although I have been involved with 3HO/Sikh Dharma for 27 years, the first 20 of those years, I only gave Dasvandh very erratically, which translated into: I usually didn’t give at all. The results:
· Erratic finances
· A really poor credit rating
· A good friend of mine lost a very large amount of my money in a business deal and then
disappeared for 2 years
· An overall bleak financial situation
However, persistence pays. In this case, I am referring to the persistence of the great people who publish “Prosperity Paths, with it’s flow of articles on the benefits of giving. A few years ago they published an article which finally hit home with me. It stated that to always receive without ever giving is comparable to wanting to always inhale without ever exhaling. This brilliant analogy finally motivated me to act on what I had long known, deep in my soul: that, in the words of a friend of mine, “we are only ready to receive when we first empty our hands by giving.” I promptly sent Dasvandh a check for $200, even though I had many pressing bills and did not think I could afford it. The results:
· Within the next 2 or 3 days after I sent in my donation, my wife found a really great job just one
mile from our house and it shortly evolved into a position for her as a yoga teacher.
· During that same 2 or 3 days I was suddenly able to track down the previously mentioned
friend. Over the next 5 years he re-paid me the money he had lost, plus a large extra sum for
my trouble, and yes, we’re still friends.
After that I did not need any more blows over the head to be convinced about giving. Since then, my participation in Dasvandh and Gurudakshina has been much more regular, and for the last couple of years it has been perfect. Lately I have been so blessed that I have also been able to begin helping friends and family somewhat less fortunate than myself, thus bringing myself closer to fulfilling the Triumvirate of Giving so essential to ultimate prosperity: Tithe, Pledge, and Gift. At times the results I have experienced have been even more dramatic than the ones outlined above. For the rest of my life, Dasvandh and Gurudakshina will always be the first two bills that I pay each month, no matter how God tests my resolve.
I look forward to a life of ever-increasing “pro-spirituality,” thanks to Guru Gobind Singh and to the Siri Singh Sahib. Thanks also to all of you at “Prosperity Paths” for the great job you’re doing.
Humbly yours,
Swami Dev Singh Khalsa