Are you Charitable?

Nope, do not get me wrong; I'm not in dearth of any materialistic needs and am not trying to make any appeal for charity! So, please be relaxed and read further if you want to know what my mind is rambling about.

Do we all remember our school days when we used to share our tiffin boxes at lunch times with our friends? Am sure those were the moments when we used to feel proud to share our lunch with friends for reasons best known to us. For those, who never had such moments in their life of sharing their tiffin boxes in school days can still try it now in your colleges or workplaces :-).

Now, the question that arises in my mind is, when we had known about sharing since our childhood, then how did the term "charity" impregnate our child-like minds? Do we really fathom the actual meaning of this word and have we ever questioned the need to do charity in this world?

To me, the word charity brings in high self-esteem and pride to the person who is practising charity! We think that the best possible way to prove one's goodness to the world is to practice charity. We are happy to have practised good "karma" and feel proud to be labeled as a nobel and a charitable human being. Some even counter their fears of a miserable next birth by being charitable. Not to mention the least about the young professionals who obtain tax exemption by practising charity. Actually in real sense, have we ever felt sheer joy and bliss on parting with our money in the name of charity?

Another question that rattles my mind is, why wasn't charity such a huge requirement in the golden-olden days in our country, India? Also, why is there such a huge need for it today? I infer from my little understanding that "old" India was rich in her resources and most were self sufficient within their realms. People in villages never desired or attempted to tredd the urban paths and the urban people had less competition for making their both ends meet. Everybody was contented within their territories and didnt have the need to intrude into the other's territory. The people from the villages were unaware of the urban life and were never ambitious to venture into a new land. So, I should say that there was bliss in people's life due to ignorance.

The more the villagers suffered in droughts or floods, the more the influx of people into urban lands happened!! You need very less imagination to understand that our urban cities were not equipped with basic amenities to support people beyond its capacity (after feeding our covetous politicians). This gave birth to a chain of NGOs and private charitable trusts.

My final thought is whether charity is the only route for helping the poor? Isn't charity and charitable organizations raising expectations of a secured support system to a section of poor people who might be lazy and irresponsible? Is practising charity going to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots ever?

I do not have answers to my own questions but I believe in the old system of sharing. The day we could share our wealth, our food, and our happiness with our own less privileged brethren, there may not be the need for people to abandon their homes and come in search for greener pastures in barren (urban) lands.

Wonder what would the NGOs be doing then????