Thursday Email – Small Things With Great Love
Namaste!
It’s a beautiful Thursday here in Bangalore, and there is kindness in the air today. It reminds me of the story of a Fakir and his donkey, Kaalu.
Story Time!
Once upon a time, there lived a Fakir in Rajasthan who had two pets – Kaalu (a donkey) and Chotu (a dog). Every morning the Fakir sent Kaalu into the village with two sacks on its back, one hanging on either side of his back. As Kaalu walked through the lanes of the village, the villagers would put rice grains in one sack, and lentils in the other. Kaalu would then come back to the Fakir, who would use both the items to cook.
The Fakir would eat his portion after giving Kaalu and Chotu their share. The remaining food would go back into the sacks, divided into neat packets. Cooked rice packets in one sack and cooked dal packets in the other. Kaalu would go back into the village, this time accompanied by Chotu. With his sharp senses, Chotu would find the homeless, the aged and the needy, who would take a packet each and bless the universe for having sent them food in their time of need.
What’s the moral of this story? The villagers had no idea who the grains and lentils were for, the Fakir had no idea where the rice grains and lentils came from, and the needy had no idea who cooked the food they were receiving. This beautiful model, which provides so much joy and harmony – in giving, sharing and receiving – came into being purely based on generosity. All the invisible Fakir did was sow some seeds of kindness and everything else was taken care of by the world.
In the spirit of the Fakir and his menagerie, we at KnowYourStar have also decided to use the content we curate to do our bit for the various causes that come to our attention.
This week, we’re thrilled to revisit an old friend, Mr. Krishna, who owns Bookworm – a book shop in Bangalore. This marvelous man, who was born and brought up in small town Karnataka, is determined to remember his roots and ensure that others from rural Karnataka benefit from his generosity. A graduate of a government school, Krishna is working towards a future where rural kids will have access to as many books as they like. In collaboration with KYS, Krishna is fundraising to start libraries in schools just like the one he attended.
What’s in this for you?
A chance to bring your Head, Heart and Hands together. What does that mean? It’s simple: If you’ve read Krishna’s story (head), and have been moved by his story and the motivation behind his initiatives (heart), then here’s your chance to be of service (hands).
You and I are often inspired to act after reading stories, but we get bogged down by day-to-day life and the problems we face. Most of the time, the desire to help is forgotten before you can act upon it. So we decided to make things easier for you (and us!) by capturing the moment and channelling that inspiration into service with just a click of a button, because we believe that small actions when performed with great love create huge ripples.
How can you help?
- Buy a gift voucher for Bookworm here, and the money you spend will go towards building school libraries for the rural and underprivileged kids through Mentor India. Bonus points if you gift the vouchers on someone else’s behalf. Let’s pass on that good karma!
- Spread the word!
You can read more about Krishna’s initiatives for the underprivileged here.
With gratitude, smiles and cheers,
Pranita Bhat
Co-Founder at KnowYourStar
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Liked reading this? Then you might also like to read Thursday Email – Let’s pledge to #BeKind this Republic Day. We can help!
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