Mahatma Gandhi’s fundraising tours for the Charkha Sangh often brought him face-to-face with the deep generosity of ordinary citizens. This particular anecdote from his travels in Odisha highlights his unique philosophy on charity and the true value of sacrifice. It reveals why Bapu sometimes measured the worth of a donation not by its monetary value, but by the spirit and depth of the giver’s selflessness.
Gandhiji went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for the Charkha Sangh.
During one of his tours, he addressed a meeting in Orissa. After his speech, a poor old woman got up. She was bent with age, her hair was grey and her clothes were in tatters. The volunteers tried to stop her, but she fought her way to the place where Gandhiji was sitting.
“I must see him,” she insisted and, going up to Gandhiji, touched his feet. Then from the folds of her sari she brought out a copper coin and placed it at his feet.
Gandhiji picked up the copper coin and put it away carefully. The Charkha Sangh funds were under the charge of Jamnalal Bajaj. He asked Gandhiji for the coin but Gandhiji refused.
“I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh,” Jamnalal Bajaj said laughingly “yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin.”
“This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands,” Gandhiji said. “If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much. But this coin was perhaps all that the poor woman possessed. She gave me all she had. That was very generous of her. What a great sacrifice she made. That is why I value this copper coin more than a crore of rupees.”
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Image: These India 2001 Mahatma Gandhi “Man of the Millennium” commemorative se-tenant pair stamps feature a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and a depiction of the Salt March satyagraha.