Positive Focus 87The art of giving
By Dr Ritu Singh
When we were young, our parents often talked
about the importance of sharing. The act of
giving to less privileged people was seen as
a way of becoming humble and caring. These
teachings help develop a sense of compassion
at a very young age. In hindsight, I realise the
importance of these little efforts to make me
appreciate and share my things with others.
Even as an adult, I have tried to imbibe this
compassion in the work I do.
Checking the intent
Daan, or charity, these days, is usually seen
as a remedial measure to fix the troubles in
one’s life. In this Universe, every intention
has an energy which flows in the direction
of the intention. When daan is done without
compassion, the intention is restricted to only
the self, and once the act of daan is done, this
intended purpose is served. Hence, the energy
of the act is exhausted. Such daan is not truly
charitable. To be truly charitable, each one of us
needs to recognise the power of compassion.
Charity is not limited to donating money. Simple
acts of kindness can also be highly effective in
transforming someone’s life.
Little steps
Recently, we celebrated a week-long ‘Festival of
Giving’ at CHI-Delhi Centre for Holistic Sciences.
Our motivation behind it was to expand the
energies, through simple acts of compassion,
by helping people in our neighbourhood slums.
Our purpose was to provide the people living
there with a clean environment. After scouting
the area, we discovered a lack of personal
hygiene among the residents. I started by
chatting with the residents and, as more and
more people joined in, our chats became
daily classes. The response we received was
overwhelming. Everyone was quite excited about
the reforms we suggested. My team felt a sense
of responsibility dawning upon us.
We followed up by distributing notebooks
and study material to inform the kids about the
importance of maintaining proper personal
hygiene. We were pleasantly surprised to
see that Zarina, a nine-year-old girl, had
taught herself to read and write. Her sheer
determination made me realise that every
human wants a chance to improve her life,
even in adverse conditions. The week-long
awareness sessions converted the kids of that
slum into responsible young leaders who ensure
the upkeep of the clean environment around
their homes. Each day of this festival brought
a promise of a growing purpose among the
residents. In 2018, we, at CHI-DELHI, pledge
to spread continuous awareness to ensure
empowerment for all.Dr Ritu Singh: Acts of compassion expand one’s energyThe author is the founder of CHI-DELHI, Centre for Holistic
Sciences. She conducts seminars on empowerment and
healing sciences for self-development and professional
career. Write to her at [email protected], http://www.chi-
delhi.com, http://www.ritutanishi.com or call at +91 9811908833