Nice One.............Be a Philanthropist
You Can Make a Big Difference
Service, it has been said, is the rent we have to pay for being tenants of this body. Every morning, as we wake up, we must ask ourselves this question: What can I do to help? What can I do to make difference? For indeed, each one of us can and must make difference.
There are so many tasks to be accomplished by us – there are hungry ones to be fed; there are naked ones to be clothed; there are elders to be cared for; there are children to be taught. There is so much work to be done. And every one of us – from the youngest to the oldest – can make a difference.
“There is not much that I can do on my own”, is what many of us think. We are mistaken. The tragedy for many of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it – but rather that our aim is too low and we reach it.
It is possible that some of you may be really overcome by doubts and anxiety when I talk about service to humanity; you may think to yourself,” After all, we are not millionaires. We are people with limited means at our disposal. How can we aspire to serve suffering humanity?”
Nowadays, we use the word ‘philanthropist’, to describe a multi-millionaire who donates vast sums of money to charitable organisations. Philanthropist is derived from two Greek words, philas, which means loving, and anthropos, which is man. In other words, philanthropist is a loving man. Aren’t we all capable of becoming philanthropists? Of course we are – if we give of ourselves, from a heart filled with love.
Can you read? Then read to a blind student. Can you write? Then write a letter, fill a form for someone who is not so lucky. If you are not hungry, share your food with someone who is. If you are happy contented, at peace with yourself, reach out to those who are not as fortunate as you.
We regard ourselves as responsible citizens. We pay our taxes and our bills on time; we exercise our franchise and fulfill our democratic duties; we try to obey all traffic rules; we steer clear of breaking the laws of the land; we try not to interfere in other people’s affairs… But this is not enough. Do something more. The opposite of love is not hate but indifference, or apathy – to the needs of those around you. We need to contribute our share – our mite – to the welfare of the world; to what Sri Krishna called lokasangraha.
To M K Gandhi, sacrifice means service. He points out that the Gita also tells us: “He who cooks only for himself is a thief.” “True yajna is an act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any returns for it, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature,” Gandhiji says. “The body therefore has been given to us only so that we may serve all creation with it.”
To M K Gandhi, sacrifice means service. He points out that the Gita also tells us: “He who cooks only for himself is a thief.” “True yajna is an act directed to the welfare of others, done without desiring any returns for it, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature,” Gandhiji says. “The body therefore has been given to us only so that we may serve all creation with it.”
..Source...Speaking Tree
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