Every action by a man is like a viable seed in fertile soil. No matter how long it takes, it will surely germinate, grow, and produce fruits—sweet or bitter for the grower. All actions produce results, as do all inactions after their gestation periods. Just as different seeds have different gestation periods, so do all actions by man. The good you do always remains with you, and the evil you do always comes back to you. In this episode, I am sharing with you how our thoughts and actions create tragedies and fortunes in our lives.

Once, there was a woman who enjoyed the practice of baking bread for members of her family. She was very kind and hospitable and always made an extra one for a hungry passerby. She kept the extra bread on the windowsill for whoever would take it away.

There was a destitute hunchback who always begged for food to eat. When the hunchback visited the woman’s house one day to beg for food, she instructed him to pick up the bread from the windowsill. The hunchback then made it a habit to come every day to pick up the baked bread. It had been more than three months now since the hunchback started benefiting from this charitable act of the woman. Surprisingly, however, the hunchback, in spite of this kind gesture, never openly said words of gratitude to the woman any time he came to pick up the bread. Instead, after picking the bread each time, he would look into the woman’s eyes and say, “The evil you do remains with you!” The good you do comes back to you!” This went on, day after day, for a long time.

The woman felt irritated and disappointed by the hunchback’s attitude. “Not a word of gratitude,” she said to herself. “Every day this hunchback utters this stupid jingle! What does he mean?” “He is such an ungrateful human being.” Feeling overly disappointed, a thought came to her mind: either stop making this kind gesture or poison the hunchback.

One day, exasperated, she decided to do away with him completely. “I shall get rid of this stupid and ungrateful hunchback,” she said. And what did she do? She added poison to the bread she prepared for him! However, as she was about to place the bread on the windowsill—the usual place—her hands trembled. “What is this I am doing?” she said to herself. Immediately, she threw the bread into the fire, prepared another one, and placed it on the windowsill. As usual, the hunchback came, picked up the bread, and muttered the words, “The evil you do remains with you!” The good you do comes back to you!” The hunchback proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman.

The woman had a son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. She loved her son so much. For many years, she had no news of him, and she prayed fervently for his safe return one day. That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway. He had grown thin and lean. His clothes were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved, and weak. As he saw his mother, he said, “Mom, it’s a miracle I’m here. While I was but a mile away, I was so famished that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old hunchback passed by. I begged of him for a morsel of food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole bread. As he gave it to me, he said, “This is what I eat every day. Today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!”

As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale and she started shedding tears uncontrollably. She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned bread that she had made that morning to get rid of the hunchback. If she hadn’t burned it in the fire, her own son would have eaten it, leading to his death! It was then that she realized the significance of the words: “The evil you do remains with you!” The good you do comes back to you!”

Sometimes, our good deeds may not yield instant results in accordance with our expectations because every seed has its time for maturity. The greatest lesson I have learned from this story is to do good and never stop doing kindness, even if it’s not appreciated at that time. Psychologically, every human being wears an invisible necklace that says, “I want to be appreciated for what I am doing.” As such, we often feel down, disappointed, and demotivated when our efforts are not appreciated by others. Our mind begins to conceive of doing something different.

When we think thoughts of harming others, it is like tossing a dagger at the sky. Eventually it falls back on us. When we think about supporting others, it is like tossing fragrant flowers at the sky. REFRAIN FROM CONCEIVING EVIL THOUGHTS ABOUT SOMEONE REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE PERSON HAS DONE TO YOU, AND NEVER GET TIRED OF DOING GOOD TO OTHERS BECAUSE AS A MAN SOWS, SO SHALL HE REAP.

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seiba@ascopublications.com