I have tried to help house help, relatives, or friends for decades. Once, I complained to my son that someone I had done a lot for never bothered to contact me. He said,” You give and try to help people, always expecting them to be grateful and praise you. You do what you want and forget about it; otherwise, it is just a commercial transaction.” What my son said made a terrific impact on me.
My immediate reaction was to scold him. I just walked out and cried. When I thought about it, I realized I had never thought about how the other person would feel. Deep within me, I realized that donating and helping gave me a sense of power. I felt small. But that incident taught me that charity and generosity are valuable when we don’t expect gratitude or payback. And I learned that do charity and forget it.
I felt very grateful that I understood the true meaning of charity. One cannot demand gratitude, and it has to come from deep within us.
Takeaway
Don’t expect people to be grateful when you do a Rak.
~ Sharada Gopalakrishnan