1 December 2012 - QA 6

Gurudev, I want to share an incident. I was going somewhere and I bought two bananas. I ate one banana and kept the other banana. I saw a beggar on the road and a thought came to my mind that I should give him the banana, but another thought came to my mind to keep it for later. So I kept it for later. Did I do something wrong? Should I have given the banana to the hungry person?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: I tell you this is what exactly happens. So many people buy so much food and then keep it in the fridge. After a while they find it is getting rotten and throw it away. How many of you do this, you store food in the fridge and then throw it? (Some in the audience raise their hands).
This has been a habit world over.
Do you know, one third of the food thrown comes from our fridges. And nearly one fourth of the food thrown comes from shops where they throw away the foodstuff because it has past it's expiry date. This tendency to hoard is there in the world.

I would say, be spontaneous. If you feel like keeping it, keep it. If you feel like giving it to someone who appears to be very hungry, you can give them.
You don’t have to have a fixed idea, ‘I should always keep the banana to myself and not give it.’ This is no good. Neither you should think, ‘I should always give it’, that is also no good. Be easy, take it easy, and sometimes do this and sometimes do that.