Part VIII: Giving Freely

Ram

When did you last give something… and not keep count?… Arre, be honest. Today, nature shows us how to give freely.

Ram

Namaste dosto! Welcome back to Hey Nature. I'm Ram. Today we open Part eight of the book. Hey Nature: 100 Gurus Hiding in Plain Sight. By SuRa Mukkavilli. Part eight is Giving Freely. Giving without keeping score. And Priya is with me. Priya!

Priya

Hello, Ram. Twelve lessons in this Part. And not one of them asks for anything back.

Ram

Twelve givers. Okay. You promised me an ant and a grain of sugar.

Priya

A grain of sugar falls on the kitchen floor. One ant finds it.

Ram

And eats it all by herself?

Priya

No. She goes back to the nest. And on the way, she leaves a scent trail.

Ram

A trail? Like a map?

Priya

Exactly like a map. Other ants follow it to the sugar. An hour later, there's a line of ants from the crack in the wall… all the way to that one grain.

Ram

So that's why my kitchen gets invaded!

Priya

One ant's find becomes the whole colony's meal. When we find something good, a job opening, a great teacher, a useful idea, we often keep it to ourselves.

Ram

Guilty. I found a great dentist last year. Told nobody.

Priya

The ant walks all the way back to share. Find it. Then go back and tell.

Ram

Okay. Next giver?

Priya

A tree in an Indian courtyard. Parijatham. Night jasmine. White flowers with orange stems.

Ram

My grandmother had one! The smell at night…

Priya

That's the one. It opens its flowers at night. The air fills with perfume. And by morning, the tree is almost bare.

Ram

And the ground is a carpet of flowers. Still fresh.

Priya

Exactly. All that beauty, given in the dark. Finished before anyone wakes up.

Ram

Like my amma. Up before everyone. Everything ready. And nobody even saw her do it.

Priya

Parents, carers, cleaners, night workers. So much good is done this way. Unseen. Bloom at night. Be gone by morning.

Ram

Okay, Priya. This next one, I hear, is a sad story.

Priya

It is. Vultures. Outside a village, a dead cow lies in a field. Within hours, the vultures arrive. By evening, nothing is left but bones.

Ram

Not the prettiest birds.

Priya

No. But they clean up. Fast. Now here's the sad part. In the nineties and two thousands, India's vultures crashed by more than ninety-five percent.

Ram

Ninety-five percent? Why?

Priya

Poison. A painkiller called diclofenac, given to cattle. When the vultures ate the carcasses, it killed them.

Ram

And then what happened?

Priya

Carcasses lay rotting. Stray dogs increased. Diseases like rabies spread. India banned the drug for animals in 2006.

Ram

So we only saw their value… after they were gone.

Priya

That's the lesson. We seldom notice those who clean up after us. Thank the cleaner before you miss them.

Ram

Hmm. I'm going to thank our building watchman tomorrow.

Ram

Okay, quiz time. Three quick ones.

Priya

Ready? A banana plant fruits only once, and then it dies back. So how does the farm keep going?

Ram

They plant a new one?

Priya

The banana does it itself! From the same base underground, new shoots have already grown up beside it. Ready to fruit next. Before you fruit, raise the next one.

Ram

Nice. Succession planning! Next.

Priya

In the dry season, why is the ground near an old tree a little damp at night?

Ram

Dew?

Priya

The tree! Some deep-rooted trees draw water up from deep soil at night. And release some into the dry topsoil. Young plants nearby can drink it. It's called hydraulic lift.

Ram

Wow. Dig deep. Share at night.

Priya

Exactly. Last one. A honeybee drinks from a flower. Is the flower poorer for it?

Ram

A little?

Priya

No! The flower is still fresh. And now it's dusted with pollen from the last one, so it can make seeds and fruit. The bee takes in a way that leaves the giver better off. Take like the bee.

Ram

What else is in Part eight?

Priya

The sun, spending itself every second. Marigolds that prepare the soil for the next crop. A single tulasi leaf, offered with love, from the Gita. And a whale that keeps feeding the deep sea for decades after it's gone.

Ram

Okay, I need all of those. Priya, sum up Part eight for me.

Priya

Share what you find, like the ant. Give unseen, like the parijatham. Honour those who clean up after you. And take like the bee.

Ram

Nice. But how do these stories actually help us give?

Priya

Each one shows a different way of giving. The ant shares good news. The parijatham gives without being seen. The vulture serves without thanks. The banana gives the future. And the bee shows that even taking can be a gift. Giving freely isn't about how much. It's about not keeping score. And you can start with something small.

Ram

And one thing to try today?

Priya

Think of one good thing you found recently. A book, a person, an idea. Go back and tell someone who needs it.

Ram

Love it. Next time, Part nine. The last one. Seeing the Gift. Noticing the help we stand on.

Priya

We'll start with rain falling on two fields. One tended, one not. What have you received… without ever earning it?

Ram

Thank you, Priya. And thank you, dosto, for listening. All twelve lessons of Part eight are at heynature.in. Till then… find it, and go back and tell. Your next teacher is closer than you think.