Given was never kept

People came to Sai Baba with many offerings. Some brought fruits. Some brought food. Some brought money. Each one gave in their own way. 

Among them was a man who came regularly. He took care to bring something each time—carefully chosen, neatly arranged. As he placed it before Baba, there was a quiet satisfaction within him. He felt he was giving. Baba would accept what was brought. But he did not keep it.

Soon after, he would pass it on to someone nearby, to a passerby, or to those who had nothing. The man began to notice this. What he had brought with care was leaving just as easily. 

One day, unable to hold his thought, he asked,

“Baba, why do you give away everything?” 

Baba looked at him and said,

“What comes here is not mine to keep.”

The words were simple. The man sat quietly.

Until then, he had believed he was giving something away. But now he began to see, what he called “his” had only passed through his hands. Nothing had truly belonged to him.

From that day, when he brought something, the feeling was different. There was no quiet claim within. Only the act remained.

Moral

When ownership drops, giving becomes natural.