Two brothers lived in a city. The elder brother was very rich, but extremely stingy and arrogant. The younger brother was an ordinary farmer, but kind and content. Whenever any needy person came to the village, the younger brother would definitely help him to the best of his ability. One day both the brothers approached a saint and asked, “Gurudev, what is the greatest wealth of life?” The saint smiled and gave a handful of wheat to both of them and said, “Keep it safely, I will return after a year.”
The elder brother kept the wheat in a gold box and kept it in the safe. The younger brother sowed the same wheat in the field. After a few months a new crop was produced from it. He distributed some of it among the needy and sowed the rest again. The saint returned after a year. The elder brother proudly opened the safe, but the wheat kept in it had rotted due to moisture. The younger brother showed the saint several sacks filled with grains and said, “Gurudev, this is the fruit of that one handful of wheat.”
The saint said, “The wealth which is locked away only for itself gets destroyed, but the wealth which is invested in hard work, service and good use, returns manifold.” That day the elder brother realized his mistake. He also started helping the needy. The lesson learned from the story is that the real value of money does not lie in preserving it, but in its good use and charity.
