Did a good deed today evening. Donated some money to the blind man playing his keyboard in the MRT walkway. And it was a spontaneous reaction - not pondered over, not broiled over a million n one times in the cauldron of rationality.
Ever so often I have remarked to Niki as we see needy, elderly, disabled people on the road that we should do something to help them. If we can't give them time, should atleast help with some money or clothes or food. But, these high-sounding, altruistic intents never materialized into any concrete actions. And I kept wondering why my mind held my hands back, while my heart was moved by the old lady in the wheelchair proffering snacks. By the blind girl playing her mandolin by the roadside. By the 5-year old boy bringing me the hot cuppa tea on the highway stall as I take my breather on my way to my winter, snow capped retreat :(.
And one Sunday evening over dinner at the food court in Balestier, as a blind, elderly Chinese couple passed by urging us to buy 3 packs of tissues for $1, things fell in place in my head.
I think my reluctance stemmed from the environment I've seen while growing up in India. Fathers making their children beg thru the day, only to enjoy their shot of Ethanol at night (which quite often turned out to be the deadly Methanol). Ladies at signals asking for money using a prescription for her kid as her plea, only - neither is the kid real, nor the prescription. Stories of that pauper who actually had a million bucks in his bank account. Such incidents & many other hearsays serve as strong deterrents against letting my compassion getting the better of my mind.
However, somewhere along the road, this intent of not encouraging begging gets transformed into a rocky wall of not having a heart. Which I think totally defeats the purpose - It just moves the pendulum from one unstable extreme to another, rather than pegging it in its equilibrium middle path. And, when the same culprit rationality is applied to analyzing the situation, I couldn't find a cogent reason to not give.
Ever so often I have remarked to Niki as we see needy, elderly, disabled people on the road that we should do something to help them. If we can't give them time, should atleast help with some money or clothes or food. But, these high-sounding, altruistic intents never materialized into any concrete actions. And I kept wondering why my mind held my hands back, while my heart was moved by the old lady in the wheelchair proffering snacks. By the blind girl playing her mandolin by the roadside. By the 5-year old boy bringing me the hot cuppa tea on the highway stall as I take my breather on my way to my winter, snow capped retreat :(.
And one Sunday evening over dinner at the food court in Balestier, as a blind, elderly Chinese couple passed by urging us to buy 3 packs of tissues for $1, things fell in place in my head.
I think my reluctance stemmed from the environment I've seen while growing up in India. Fathers making their children beg thru the day, only to enjoy their shot of Ethanol at night (which quite often turned out to be the deadly Methanol). Ladies at signals asking for money using a prescription for her kid as her plea, only - neither is the kid real, nor the prescription. Stories of that pauper who actually had a million bucks in his bank account. Such incidents & many other hearsays serve as strong deterrents against letting my compassion getting the better of my mind.
However, somewhere along the road, this intent of not encouraging begging gets transformed into a rocky wall of not having a heart. Which I think totally defeats the purpose - It just moves the pendulum from one unstable extreme to another, rather than pegging it in its equilibrium middle path. And, when the same culprit rationality is applied to analyzing the situation, I couldn't find a cogent reason to not give.
- At a moral level, one should give, just because you should. That's exactly what Karmanyeva Aadhikaraste means. It is your duty to give & not to worry whether your giving is used for drinking or as offering to a deity.
- From a more worldly pragmatic point of view, the assumptions that put barriers in our mind are more hearsay than anything else. And given the Indian media's record for "veracity", it is most likely that the bad stories are amplified & blown out of proportion than their actual occurrences. Why then should the truly needy, deserving suffer for a handful of miscreants?
- From a philosophical point of view - and this I find the most convincing - if you don't bother about what a person does with that expensive gift in a fancy wrapper you brought him/her, why should you bother with what the beggar does with the 5 rupees that you give him?
Made me realize that giving to people, having a heart, being compassionate is A CHOICE. You can choose to do your two-cents worth or just be indifferent (or apathetic). However, it is a choice you make & is independent of how conniving & evil the world might be.
That day onwards, I made my choice. I will help. I will give. Without bothering about what will be done with that measly little contribution of mine. I have enough & more in life, and extending that small arm of support once in a while won't stunt me in any which way. There are people who aren't as fortunate as I have been in life (only due to God's quirks in casting the dice & no other reason!) and they deserve to be helped. Even if one soul benefits from what I do, it's worth it.
And I'll do it with a smile. That little gesture will earn me well-wishes that I could very well do with. Somewhere in my heart, I'll also have the small, selfish pleasure of clocking up some goodkarma miles.
The couple sold 6 tissue packs that day. (My chronic cold also helps!). The smile on the musician's wife (who isn't blind & probably has a day job somewhere), tenderly feeding him some rice while he played on, as I moved towards their tin box was priceless. It was one of genuineness & gratitude.
We should never lose sight of the fact that we wouldn't have evolved to where we are today without a million, unknown, benign helping hands. Like that star who ripped the Sun open & gave birth to our planet. Like that meteor who triggered some chemical magic creating life. Like that first playful Pisces who jaunted on to land & took on a hairy, ape-like form.
Who knows what unintended & magnificent effects our small actions might have in the future!
That day onwards, I made my choice. I will help. I will give. Without bothering about what will be done with that measly little contribution of mine. I have enough & more in life, and extending that small arm of support once in a while won't stunt me in any which way. There are people who aren't as fortunate as I have been in life (only due to God's quirks in casting the dice & no other reason!) and they deserve to be helped. Even if one soul benefits from what I do, it's worth it.
And I'll do it with a smile. That little gesture will earn me well-wishes that I could very well do with. Somewhere in my heart, I'll also have the small, selfish pleasure of clocking up some goodkarma miles.
The couple sold 6 tissue packs that day. (My chronic cold also helps!). The smile on the musician's wife (who isn't blind & probably has a day job somewhere), tenderly feeding him some rice while he played on, as I moved towards their tin box was priceless. It was one of genuineness & gratitude.
We should never lose sight of the fact that we wouldn't have evolved to where we are today without a million, unknown, benign helping hands. Like that star who ripped the Sun open & gave birth to our planet. Like that meteor who triggered some chemical magic creating life. Like that first playful Pisces who jaunted on to land & took on a hairy, ape-like form.
Who knows what unintended & magnificent effects our small actions might have in the future!
