Gift from a Great Soul

Mohan was a well-to-do farmer, but in his own locality, he was better known as Mohan the Miser. The harvest season had come to an end, and it was time for the farmers to bring home their stacks of paddy. The children of poor families loitered around the fields, hoping to collect grains that had scattered from the stacks. The farmers did not disappoint them; they believed it was a noble act to give small quantities of grain to the needy.

Mohan, too, was in his field and prepared to leave for home. There were porters available to carry his paddy; however, none of the poor boys approached him. They knew of Mohan’s reputation. Desiring to be seen as generous, Mohan decided to demonstrate that he could be more charitable than the others. He set aside some paddy and mixed it with an equal quantity of husk. Then, he called over some boys and filled their bags with the mixture.

One of his neighbors grew curious. He called the boys over, looked into their bags, and smiled before offering them some advice. When Mohan returned home, his wife informed him, “Look at that heap of grain. A certain great soul gave it freely to some village urchins. I bought it from them at half the market price.” Mohan recognized the irony of his misguided generosity.