Sivananda's Personality - 26.

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26.

The Master gave without embarrassing the recipient. Maybe a distressed man came to him with a plea, "Swamiji, I am a poor Sadhu. I am in need of a blanket. The cold wind is freezing me."

The Master would say, "Achcha Maharaj, kindly sing a Kirtan. You have a very good voice."

The Sadhu would sing or chant "Ram, Ram, Ram" or "Radhe Shyam" for a few minutes.
The Master would then quietly give a ten-rupee note to him, saying, "Kirtan bahut achcha hai—the Kirtan was very nice."
The money took on the colour, not of a lofty gift, but of a present, a token of the Master’s earnest appreciation of the Kirtan.
What mattered more than the money was the heart. The Master had a large heart.

Sri N. Ananthanarayanan
 To be continued  ...


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