One of the principles of Sufism is generosity. There are three levels of generosity. The first is the desire to give something away, such as your time and money, to another person or organisation and you feel gratification from that. This kind of generosity is very common. It has a reward attached to it.
The second kind of generosity is anonymous giving. They give because they like to give and there is a joy in that. It also develops compassion in the individual. There is less attachment in this kind of generosity, although there is still some. This attachment is signified by the joy of the receiver and the satisfaction gained from knowing that this will be felt: you have done something positive,
The third kind of generosity is giving without any expectation of reward. To illustrate the fundamental difference in an unsubtle way, a person giving without any attachment might lay down a ten pound note in the street and not care who picks it up. At the same time, the person who finds it will have no perception of having received a gift as result of the generosity of another. They are merely left with the impression that they have been lucky to find it. The finder is not incited to give thanks to a particular individual. This kind of giving is very discreet.
This is Sufi generosity.
This kind of generosity is more profound and has a deeper meaning that generosity with an attachment. With the first and second kind, one makes a statement 'I am giving to you and you NEED that' . While there may be gratitude on he part of the receiver, he is also humbled by the specific act of generosity. People have resistance to this because their pride in undermined.
Junaid, on of the greatest Sufi masters said, that generosity is giving without expecting justice. Do justice but do not expect it for yourself. This is the hardest part for us to understand.
Taken from a leaflet written by Sufi Master Mir Hadian.
Love
Gilly
RE: Sufi Generosity
Wow Gilly
when it is out into black and white, it certainly makes us think about the way we give our time/money etc.
:eek:[:o]
Love & Light
Mark
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RE: Sufi Generosity
It did just that to me Mark.;) I had a friend here for the weekend, who was with me through three years Spiritual Healing classes. We loved every moment, and became close, then she moved on to Sufi wisdom and I must admit her new path is of great interest. It is so gentle, wise and all encompassing.
Gxxx
RE: Sufi Generosity
generosity is giving without expecting justice. Do justice but do not expect it for yourself
We have a line simialr to that in the Qu'ran, generosity is important as is justice, the idea is that if everyone gives from their heart for the good of others, everyone will then have their needs met.
The Sufis have a long tradition of remembering this.
I had a great experience some years ago when I worked in a restaurant, a group of Muslim Sufis from India came to the UK and stayed in our restaurant(upstairs in the flat) although none of us were Sufis. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and sharing bits and pieces, and what a nice bunch they were, totally nice and down to earth as well as totally committed to their religion and lifestyle.
Not wanting to lower the tone at all but one of those men was so handsome it wasn't true, he oozed charisma and had huge presence and energy, if he came into the room behind you and you didn't see, you could so know his vibe. He also had the nicest voice and manners and was just lovely and like no one you ever meet.
What with all that and his handsome looks, all the women who saw him would just go quiet and stare and wonder how they can get married to him, then they'd get silly and fall over themsleves to get near him.
He cannot have failed to notice us all, the staring and gooey looks but was generous enough to take entirly no notice of it and carry on as if we were behaving quite normally!
Trust me, I never saw a man that good looking since!
Hal
RE: Sufi Generosity
Hi Gilly
Is this kind of like the "random acts of kindness" concept where you just give something because you can and don't necessarily know who is going to be on the receiving end? I guess though you are still thinking how good the receiver will feel, even if you don't know who they are - so you are in the second type of generoisty.
Type three is really hard!! We are so attached (well I am anyway), to the idea of doing something positive and how that would make me feel, that I would find it nearly impossible just to do something without thinking of the effect it would have.
Thanks for the thought provoking post.
Love
Celtia
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