THE PROPHET MUHAMMED'S ADVICE.

:

A man came to the Prophet (Muhammed) begging of him something; and the Prophet said, "Have you nothing at home?" He said, "Yes, there is a large carpet, with one part of which I cover myself, and spread the other and there is a wooden cup in which I drink water." Then the Prophet said, "Bring before me the carpet and the cup." And the man brought them; and the Prophet took them in his hands and said, "Who will buy them?" A man said, "I will take them at one Dirhem." He said, "Who will give more?" This he repeated twice or thrice. Another man said, "I will take them for two Dirhems." Then the Prophet gave the carpet and the cup to that man, and took the two Dirhems, which he gave to the man (who had come to beg) and said, "Buy food with one of those Dirhems, and throw it to your family that they may make it their sustenance for a few days; and buy a hatchet with the other Dirhem, and bring it to me." And the man brought it; and the Prophet put a handle to it with his own hands, and then said, "Go cut wood, and sell it; and let me not see you for fifteen days." Then the man went cutting wood and selling it; and he came to the Prophet, when verily he had got ten Dirhems; and he bought a garment with part of them, and food with part. Then the Prophet said, "This cutting and selling of wood and making your livelihood by it is better for thee than coming on the day of resurrection, with black marks in thy face; for verily, begging is not allowable except for three persons; one, a very poor, indigent. man; and for a debtor; and for one a security for debts." "MISHCAT-AL-MASÂBIH."*

• Translated from Arabic by Captain Matthews.

10. BENEVOLENCE.

The lessons of Prudence have charms,
And slighted, may lead to distress;
But the man whom Benevolence warms,
Is an angel who lives but to bless.

-BLOOMFIELD.

The noble-minded dedicate themselves
To the promotion of the happiness
Of others-e'en of those who injure them.
True happiness consists in making happy.*

-BHARAVI.

The benevolent have the advantage of the envious, even in this present life; for the envious is tormented not only by all the ill that befalls himself, but by all the good that happens to another; whereas the benevolent man is the better prepared to hear his own calamities unruffled, from the complacency and serenity he has secured, from contemplating the prosperity of all around him.

-COLTON.

No man is a better merchant than he that lays out his time upon God, and his money upon the poor. You should give a helping hand to one in trouble whether he be great or low. The poor should be helped and the wise should indicate or show the way to one

who has gone wrong (or who is mistaken).

From Indian Wisdom by Monier Williams,

The man who is benevolent has no end of happiness; whether he be great or low, people call him fortunate or blessed.

-"MODI SECOND READING BOOK."

It is the duty of a 'learned man to practise benevolence;

To afflict others should be regarded as a great sin. That man is really a great man, and besiles, rare and unique,

Who does good to an ungrateful man and looks on him with forgiveness.

Receive with affection and always protect the man. who seeks refuge with you.

That is the most meritorious act and a source of great pleasure.

The more we strive disinterestedly for the welfare
of others,

The more shall we be blessed by the grace of God.
The sense of satisfaction arising from beneficent

actions

Surpasses even the pleasure of love, which on the contrary, enervates the intellect.

-NARMADASHANKAR.*

He who calls those his own

Who are vexed and troubled,

He should be recognised as a saint,
God surely must dwell with him.
He that takes to his heart

One who has no protector,

And shows to his servants

The same kindness, which he shows to his sons,

A Gujarati poet.

Tuka says," Beyond all expression, he is the image of God."*

This holy mystery I declare unto you,
There is nothing nobler than humanity.

"MAHABHARATA."

True humanity consists not in a squeamish ear; it consists not in starting or shrinking at tales of misery, but in a disposition of heart to relieve it. True humanity appertains rather to the mind than to the nerves, and prompts men to use real and active measures to execute the actions which it suggests.

-C. J. Fox,

The best devotion is that remembrance of the True Name: the best act is philanthropy. Without both of these accursed is man's human birth. He merely vegetateth and heedeth not what is best for him. He is a beast without a tail or horn, and vain is his advent into the world. At the last moment the myrmidons of Death shall firmly seize him and he shall depart grieving with empty hands. Alms, gift, penance, and sacrifices are not equal to philanthropy. Of the various sins that man commits, none is equal to selfishness.†

-GURU ANGAD.

Where there is most love of God, there will be the truest and most enlarged philanthropy.

-SOUTHEY.

From Sir A. Grant's translation in Fortnightly Review (1867).

† From a Lecture on the Sikhs by Mr. Macauliffe, C. S.

The favours man accords to men
Are never fruitless, from them rise
A thousand acts beyond our ken,
That float like incense to the skies;
For benefits can never efface,
They multiply and widely spread,
And honour follows on their trace.*

TORU DUTT.

If there be a pleasure on earth which angels cannot enjoy, and which they might almost envy man the possession of, it is the power of relieving distress.

-COLTON.

The loftiest trees bend humbly to the ground
Beneath the teeming burden of their fruit;
High in the vernal sky the pregnant clouds
Suspend their stately course, and hanging low,
Scatter their sparkling treasures o'er the earth.
And such is true benevolence; the good

Are never rendered arrogant by riches.†

-KALIDAS'S SHAKUNTALA.

Doing good to another is right; causing injury to another is wrong. -VYASA.

And if the benefactors of mankind, when they rest from their pious labours, shall be permitted to enjoy hereafter, as an appropriate reward of their virtue, the privilege of looking down upon the blessings with which their toils and sufferings have clothed the scene of their former existence, do not vainly imagine that, in a state of exalted purity and wisdom, the founders of mighty dynasties, the conquerors of new empires, or the more

From Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan. + From Indian Wisdom by Monier Williams.