Charity begins at home. This is an old saying and its meaning is clear to those who know this language. It means we should not preach others to do charity work. But we should do charity ourselves. This sentence was definitely said by some well known personality that is why it has become a proverb. It is popular and correct even now a day. All teachers, saints, and leaders preach the public. They think that they are intelligent and well-groomed and rest of the people is innocent and naïve. So this is their duty to persuade others to do good work for the society. I think Preaching is not an appropriate method to teach others. Even in the olden days it was not considered a good method for moral teaching; those who did moral teaching through their act were considered the best teachers.
There is an old story of a saint. He was popular among the public and people always paid him due regards. One day a lady, along with her son, came to his house and said to him,’ my son eats too much sugar. You kindly tell him not to take so much sugar.’ Hearing her request, the saint told her to come there after a week. The lady again came to his house after a week and requested him to solve the problem of his son. Hearing her request, the saint advised the boy that he should not eat too much sugar. The boy agreed with him and promised him that he would not eat sugar. After a month the lady again visited him and said, ‘I am grateful to you because my son has stopped taking sugar as per your advice.’ She said if she could ask him a question. The saint permitted her to ask a question. She said, ‘you could give him that simple advice on the first day then why did you call him next week.’ Hearing her curiosity, the saint first smiled and said, ‘the answer is quiet simple. I was also very fond of sugar, so I stopped myself taking sugar. After that I was able to advice him.’ The lady was looking satisfied with the saint’s reply. The story also gives us the message that we should teach others through our act, not through our preaching.