Kerman, in Persia, has been sacked at least six times. In 1794
the city was almost entirely destroyed by Agha Mohammed Khan,
who later demanded twenty thousand pairs of human eyes before
he would withdraw his troops. Kerman never recovered from
this terrible blow, and to-day is a byword for its poverty and
beggars. There is a quaint saying among its beggars:
“Khuda guft, ‘Beddeh’;
Shaitan guft, ‘Neddeh.’”
This means, “God says, ‘Give’; Satan says, ‘Don’t give.’”
The generous impulse is a divine motion: the selfish, is satanic.
Many are poor because they are first blind and do not possess the
enlightenment of good sense and God’s grace.
(1221)
* * * * *
Forever the sun is pouring its gold
On a hundred worlds that beg and borrow;
His warmth he squandered on summits cold,
His wealth on the homes of want and sorrow;
To withhold his largeness of precious light
Is to bury himself in eternal night.
To give
Is to live.
(1222)
See ALMSGIVING; BENEVOLENCE; GENEROSITY; GETTING AND GIVING;
HAPPINESS; PERSONAL PREACHING.