"Good Karma"

"Good Karma"

by Tayvon

"In 1892 at Stanford University, an 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan and not knowing where to get money, yet he came up with a bright idea. He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski and his manager demanded a fee of $2000 for the piano recital.

So, the boys began to work for the concert. But unfortunately, they only sell tickets with a total collection of $1600. They went to Paderewski and gave him the entire $1600, plus a check for the balance $400 and promised to honor the check as soonest possible. But “No,” said Paderewski. He tore the check and told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money that you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”.

The boys were surprised and thanked him profusely. It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked on them that Paderewski was a great human being. Why should he help when he didn't even know them?

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country and no money to feed them. Paderewski reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. He heard there was a man called Herbert Hoover - who later become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. The calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved and decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him.

When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.”

We all come across situations like these in our lives. And most of us think “If I help them, what will happen to me?” But truly great people will think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?” and are not expecting something in return. They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do. Keep helping others for Good Karma will always return."

- https://www.quora.com/