He built his monumental work <br />On the rocks of his pithy philosophy: <br />‘Work Builds; Charity Destroys.’ <br />Whenever the tempest of time blows across <br />He feels no loss – <br />His work stands unaffected; <br />Self-reliance he has perfected. <br />To those poor palms <br />Fated to seek alms <br />A few tools he gave, <br />Their spirits to save, <br />And they carved out <br />The beauty of self-dignity <br />From what was first their self-pity, <br />Their disability, <br />Their poverty, <br />Their agony! <br />In the desert of leprosy <br />He sowed seeds of sympathy, <br />Seeds of empathy, <br />And grew the garden of ability, <br />Of energy, <br />Of prosperity. <br />He knew that charity <br />Could feed the hungry. <br />But he also knew that it could <br />Also inflict injury. <br />But work could make one worthy, <br />Could make one really happy. <br />He gave no charity; <br />He gave opportunity; <br />He decried self-pity; <br />He admired dignity.<br /><br />Kannan G<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/j-baba-amte-1994-work-builds-but-charity-destroys/
