Learning to give

The term 'noblesse oblige', meaning 'nobility obligates', was used by the French writer Balzac, and refers to the medieval period when nobles and feudal lords were obligated to act generously towards the less fortunate. Wealth is more than legacy. Warren Buffett, the American investor and philanthropist, says, 'A very rich person should leave his children enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing.'

M K Gandhi said if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. Wealth is to be treated as a trusteeship for the benefit of the community, and a trustee has no heir but humanity.

The act of giving is not confined to the affluent alone; each of us, even with fewer resources, can contribute our mite to those in difficult circumstances. It is important to realise that many around us live below the breadline, leading peripheral existences.


We experience fulfilment in the 'luxury of doing good', as the good pastor says in The Vicar of Wakefield. All material joys and their accompaniments are impermanent; we are all subject to the turning wheel of fortune. Hence, it is important to remember that, in this bleak time, we must share whatever we can, according to our station. Giving is not always about sharing currency. Kahlil Gibran said, 'You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.'