When Giving Hurt—and Was Still Chosen

Guruji as a young TIFR scientist.

(from "The Goddess and the Guru"):

In the early days of their marriage, Guruji and Annapurna lived simply. Their Bombay homes were small, shared, and austere. There was no sense of deprivation—only acceptance. Later they moved to Ghatkopar, and much later to the more comfortable TIFR Quarters near Guruji’s work, but at the beginning everything was modest.

Despite the prestige of his position, Guruji’s salary was meager. Still, he was already moving against the usual grain. In his spare time, he worked as a social activist, helping to build schools for the poor. At one fundraising event organized by the Andhra Mahasabha, he was struck by something that angered him deeply: none of the wealthy attendees donated even a token amount.

So he acted. On impulse, he pledged three months of his own salary to the project.

“It wasn’t much in absolute terms,” he later said. “But it was three months of my annual income.” The practical consequence was stark: he and his wife went without food two days a week until the donation was fulfilled.

Yet the experience transformed him.

“There was sadness, yes—but also great happiness,” he recalled. “Pain and pleasure together. When giving hurts so much, and still you give—that, I think, contains something essential about spirituality.”