Value Of Poverty

Aum Sairam

Baba said, "Fakir [Mendicancy] was the real Lordship as it was
everlasting, and the so called Lordship [riches] was transient" in Shri
Sai Satcharitra, Ch.VIII.

Ibrahim bin Adam was the king of Balkh. He renounced his throne and
wealth to become a fakir, a wandering mendicant in quest of God.

One day, in the course of his wandering, he came across a beggar by the
wayside. Lean as a scarecrow, clad in tatters, the man complained
bitterly against God, cursing Him for the poverty that had been his lot
in life.

"How can you curse God for such a valuable gift" Ibrahim asked the
poor man.

The beggar stared at him in astonishment. "Are you mad?" he cried
out. "Does poverty have any value?"

The wandering mendicant, who was once upon a time a great king, replied
calmly, "Yes, indeed! I bartered away my entire kingdom to acquire
poverty. Therefore, I know its true value!"

Suffering poverty and privation are processes by which we are purified,
and move closer to God. But few of us can accept these as such!

Allah Malik