Page 6 - 國際扶輪3490地區2015-16總監月報第1期(2015.7)

R.I. R.I. President Message
K.R. Ravindran
President, Rotary International
04 總監月報 第01期
We in Rotary aspire to great deeds. We admire those who gave great gifts
to humanity: Abraham Lincoln, who gave the gift of human dignity to the
downtrodden; Mother Teresa, who gave the gift of compassion to the forgotten;
Mahatma Gandhi, who gave the gift of peaceful change to the oppressed. Their
very lives became gifts to the world.
We can be inspired by their example. We can be inspired to ask, how can
I, in the life that I live – without neglecting the responsibilities that are so dear
to me – how can I, too, become a gift to the world? As I considered my theme, I
thought of the lessons I have learned through my Hindu faith. I thought especially
of the story of Sudama.
Sudama was a poor child and a bosom friend of Krishna, who was born in
a royal lineage as an avatar – an incarnation of the divine. As the two boys grow
up, they drift apart, and while Krishna becomes a military leader and king of
great repute, Sudama remains a humble villager.
The years go by and Sudama's poverty deepens. Finally, he lacks even
food to feed his children. His wife reminds him of his childhood friendship with
Krishna: Perhaps it is time to go to the mighty ruler for help. Reluctantly, Sudama
agrees, but resolves that he will not go empty-handed. He gathers together a few
handfuls of rice – all the food his family has left – and wraps them in a piece of
cloth as a gift for his friend.
When Sudama enters the palace, he is overwhelmed by the grandeur and
by Krishna's gracious welcome. His meager gift, so carefully prepared, seems a
humiliating reminder of his poverty. Krishna embraces Sudama, who hides the
hand holding the rice behind his back. Krishna asks what he is holding.
Far from being disdainful, Krishna accepts the rice with gratitude and
consumes it with joy as the two sit and talk together. Hours pass, during which
the pleasures of their rekindled friendship push all thoughts of his des-perate
plight from Sudama's mind. When evening falls, Sudama sets out for home – and
only then realizes that he has neglected his task. He is returning with nothing,
and Krishna has eaten his family's last grains of rice.
Sudama steels himself to return to his hungry children. But standing before
his gate, as dawn begins to break, he sees that the hut he left yesterday has
become a stately home, and waiting to greet him is his own family: well-dressed,
and well-fed by the baskets of food that appeared in their kitchen as Krishna ate
each grain of Sudama's rice.
Krishna understood what Sudama had brought him: everything he had to
give. In return, Krishna gave him everything he needed. It is never the material
value of a gift that matters – it is the love that comes with it. Just as Sudama's
gift to Krishna became a gift to Sudama, what we give through Rotary becomes
a gift to us. And we all have a choice: whether to keep our gifts to ourselves or
give them to others, and Be a Gift to the World.
We have only one chance at our lives. And we will have only one chance
at this new Rotary year. This is our time. Let us grasp it. Let us Be a Gift to the
World.