THE GOD DOES NOT DIFFERENTIATE. WE DO.

A hand on a shoulder.

During his stay in South Africa once Mahatma Gandhi went to a second grade restaurant for something to eat. When he had finished eating a bearer brought the bill. Gandhi paid the bill and very politely thanked the bearer keeping his hand on the shoulder of the bearer and expressing his gratitude for the service provided by him.

The bearer was overwhelmed. “Sir, I shall never forget you. This was the biggest tip I have ever got in my twenty-five years of service.” He said.

This was a true incident from the life of a great personality of modern times who contributed much for humanity in 20^th century.

Now, we come to a very short story written by famous 19th century Russian novelist, short-story writer and poet, Ivan Sergeyevich Turgnev.

A wounded hand.

It was a feeble call that made me look behind. It was an old man with tears in his eyes. He was very weak and was wearing torn and dirty clothes. He raised his hand begging for some help. His palm had deep wounds that were rotten badly.

I could make out that he desperately needed some help. I put my hand in the pocket where I always kept my money to find something that could be given to him. There was nothing in the pocket. I tried all my pockets one by one but failed to find even a single coin. I was ashamed. Unable to decide anything that could have been done I softy took the beggar’s wounded hand in my hands, “I am very sorry, I have nothing to give.”

Tears still flowing from his eyes that shaking skeleton of the beggar held my hand, “Do not worry, you gave me love; that also I needed badly.”

I realized that unknowingly I had given him something and had also received something from him.

Human being started living together to protect themselves from all kinds of dangers and hardships including hunger. Why is it that some get enough food and others do not? Some have roofs over them and others do not? Some have warm blankets to cover them during winter nights and others shiver. Some are treated as higher-ups in our society and others as lowly?

We can understand and appreciate when a good hearted barrister put his hand on the shoulder of a second grade restaurant bearer because he intended to bridge the gap that existed in the statures of the two.                                                                                                         

But when a weak hand with rotten wounds of a poor old lowly beggar holds the hands of an empty pocketed gentleman from higher social standing, our faith in humanity is redeemed.

How soon will it happen that those who are knowingly or unknowingly busy with increasing the gap between man and man are sensitized with humanitarian thoughts that are often expressed from time to time in various forms? Wider becomes the gap, more difficult would it become to bridge it. We must know that disasters of humanity are irreversible; the nature has to bear their burden forever.