Duty Towards Guests

Athithi Devo Bhava, says our scriptures, Atithi, the guest, is himself God. There are many anecdotes in Hindu lore and Puranas, how, for the sake of allaying the hunger of guests and serving them, the hosts even starved themselves to death, giving their portion or share of food to the guest, even during the days of the gravest famine. There is the story in Mahabharatha of the Kurukshetra-brahmin, Rantideva and his family, narrated to King Yudhishtira by the weasel with shining gold on her back.

King Bali gave away his all, even his life, to Vamana when He came as a guest to his palace.

Karna’s fame stands till today for his charity. He never flinched back and offered away whatever was asked for, even though he knew that these things were going to cost his very life.

In Victor Hugo’s famous novel Les Miserables, when Jean Valgeine, who was starving was turned out from every inn and door because he was an ex-convict, knocked at the Bishop’s house, with no hope of being accepted and given shelter, to his utter amazement, the Bishop greeted him saying, “Come in, my brother. This is as much your own house as it is mine.” The Bishop him, the despised convict, with a feast serving it in silver plates. When Jean Valgeine was apprehended next morning while running away with the stolen silver plates from the same Bishop’s house and was brought back by the police before the Bishop, the latter protected him by saying that the silver plates were given to Jean Valgeine by himself only and they were not stolen by him. He gave him also silver candles in addition.

The Bishop’s words seem to echo what is taught in the Isavasya Upanishad, that everything in the universe belongs to God only and that none has exclusive right to anything. All is but God’s gift only to be shared equally by all.

In the home life, if all of us would conduct ourselves with such towards our parents, family members, servants and guests, in the way we have seen above, then happiness will till the house. Home is the first training ground to help one to develop a universal outlook. The same attitude should be carried outside the home too by treating all fellow beings with the same attitude of amiability and affection and conducting ourselves in all dealings in the same manner.

[Source: The Path Divine, Sri Sathya Sai Balvikas, Dharmakshetra, Mumbai]