Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Charity begins with the heart



I started thinking about charity and lots of opinions that go around about it.Some say charity begins at home, some says avoid some charity ,some says do as much charity as you can.According to me,Charity begins with the heart and the most important thing in charity is the intention behind doing charity .What is the point in helping someone to just gain some advantage out of it .When i talk to people who are from NGO's ,many of them tell me how some celebrities are a part of it to gain more popularity .It shocked me as some of them i thought were genuine also figured in the list. But there are also some who genuinely do give back to the society . And then comes how we do it .Some think the more you give matters and small help /donation will not help or they feel bad about giving less. Any help , small or big is always appreciated by any organizations that run towards social causes.Once i came across a touching interview by vidya sagar who is the man behind "Udhavum Karangal" who said that one of his regular supporter is a 80 year old grandma who sends cloth napkins that are stitched by her using her old saarees. Imagine ,how thoughtful this is and at her age she is still trying to do something that she can So next time , you hesitate to help - don't -Just follow you heart and do it . As we may wonder about how our gesture will help or not -but you never know how much difference you are making to someone's life . And in terms of money , many hesitate to shell out .It is absolutely okay to think about if your money is reaching the right source . But once you are sure about the organization's good will - take it from me -you will never stop giving as many organisations who are doing the right things will affect you so much positively that you will only become better and better at giving . Two such organisations that i have come across so far are
" The United Physically Handicapped School " from coimbatore & Nalandaway from Chennai . I first learnt about "The United school for physically handicapped Children" through a good friend Srinivas .It was my 19th birthday and the very first birthday i was not around with anyone in my family .I have never woken up at the dawn of my birthday without my parents and sister around .But that year was so tragic for me that i had no choice to accept the fact that our lives have changed and hence the birthday had dawned in sadness. But this good friend wanted to compensate for all the sadness and to ensure i had a real happy birthday -he visited me with a bunch if flowers and had planned to spend the entire day with me . He then told me-Please don't mind this gift -it may make you sad ,but i want you to see this place and i am sure you are one person who will like doing things like this. And that is how it started .The ride from my home to sathyamangalam was long but i still vividly remember that birthday where i visited this school. I was only in tears from then. As there i saw a bunch of children, guess about 100 of them then -Orphans and top of it physically challenged children (Oh ! God -how can you be so cruel to create them with disabilities and top of it take away their parents) This was my gift - Srini had booked a breakfast for all of them for the occasion of my birthday and they all sang a happy birthday song for me and did a small prayer . The in charge over there asked me if i want to serve them and i happily agreed . It is not a happy feeling to visit a place like that on your birthday but i truly appreciate this gift and this birthday will remain my most memorable birthday for years to come as from then , there was no looking back for me in terms of charity . Srini told me -I brought you here and my only request is you continue supporting them . And i do just that ... for the past few years i regularly book a lunch or dinner for all of them at the school for special occasions . As it is said that "Dhanathil sirantha dhanam -ANNA DHANAM" So friends, don't ever hesitate to help someone .You don't loose much -You only gain happiness and good fortune for your life by such kind acts. May charity begin with you heart !!

To know more about this special school -Please visit http://tuphschool.org/school.html

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Udavum karangal is one organisation I visit often and had once got the chance to meet Vidyagar....I really donno how many people wud choose this as their life/career to serve other people.

Taking ur words am sure to visit "The United school for physically handicapped Children" someday atleast. Well said, charity begins with the heart completely agree with u. THough not on a regular basis I am associated with an oragnisation too for such causes, am trying hard to do it on a regular basis....

Just came to peep in, seeing ur post mesmerised me as usual that I forget the kitchen....Podi adupula karugarathukula odaren ;)