Lesson No :6 Unit -II
BUYING AND SELLING
- Khalil Gibran
And a merchant said, ‘Speak to us of Buying and Selling.’
And he answered and said:
To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands.
It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied.
Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger.
When in the market place you toilers of the sea and fields and vineyards meet the weavers and the potters and the gatherers of spices, –
Invoke then the master spirit of the earth, to come into your midst and sanctify the scales and the reckoning that weighs value against value.
And suffer not the barren-handed to take part in your transactions, who would sell their words for your labour.
To such men you should say,
‘Come with us to the field, or go with our brothers to the sea and cast your net;
For the land and the sea shall be bountiful to you even as to us.’
And if there come the singers and the dancers and the flute players, – buy of their gifts also.
For they too are gatherers of fruit and frankincense, and that which they bring, though fashioned of dreams, is raiment and food for your soul.
And before you leave the marketplace, see that no one has gone his way with empty hands.
For the master spirit of the earth shall not sleep peacefully upon the wind till the needs of the least of you are satisfied.
Buying and Selling- Summary
A merchant asks about buying and selling, and Almustafa declares that people will not want provided that they know how to fill their hands. Exchanging the gifts of the earth brings abundance and satisfaction, provided it is done in love and justice. Otherwise, it results in greed and hunger. In the marketplace, farmers and artisans must ask the master spirit of the earth to sanctify the scales and allow no one to come in empty-handed. Singers, dancers and musicians have useful gifts to sell, along with gatherers of fruit and frankincense. No one should leave the marketplace empty-handed, for this keeps the master spirit of the earth from sleeping peacefully.
OR
The poem deals with integrity in the buying and selling of the produce of the earth.
A merchant asks about buying and selling, and Almustafa declares that people will not want provided that they know how to fill their hands. Exchanging the gifts of the earth brings abundance and satisfaction, provided it is done in love and justice. Otherwise, it results in greed and hunger. In the marketplace, farmers and artisans must ask the master spirit of the earth to sanctify the scales and allow no one to come in..emptyhanded..Such people should be told to work hard at producing what humanity needs. In a market the need of even the least person should be satisfied. Then only there will be peace and happiness on Earth. ( the spirit of the Earth will be satisfied.)
English Study Material 