Paropakaram - Doing Good to Others

There is a subhashita slokam on paropakaram which begins as

It says that rivers flow, cows give milk, trees bear fruits for others, and benefit. 

Similarly this body is also meant for helping others. Helping others gives spiritual merit.  Manava seva is Madhava seva. Service to humans is service to God. Annadanam is one of the highest gifts or charities.  There is a bhojana mantra which says, annam brahma rasam Vishnu bhokta devo Janardana, bringing out the divinity of food. The essence of food is Vishnu.  The main character is Mahesvara.  Knowing and meditating on this prevents any impurities in the food sticking to you.  Our Vedas have emphasized the importance of annam, food.  Bahu annam kurvita:  Produce more and more food.  Annam na pramaditavyam.  Food is not to be wasted.  There are thousands of selfless persons who work in several fields driven by a vision of doing public good. A good example is working in the area of helping farmers and communities, especially to turn lands degraded by conflicts into productive farmland. There is a recent news that one such woman in the field of agriculture by name Heidi Kuhn has been chosen to be honoured by the World Food Prize Foundation with an equivalent of the Nobel Prize for her selfless work around the world to turn lands destroyed by war and conflict into fertile farmland.  There are examples of qualified engineers offering free coaching classes to poor children, and professionals actively involved in dealing with environmental waste on a voluntary basis.  We can seize the opportunity to understand, appreciate and learn from the outstanding contribution of such persons. Many such people stand out as examples of sublimating personal suffering into service to society for loka sangraha, universal welfare.  They inspire others to rise above artha and kama, and focus more on dharma.

You may know of some, or read about many such paropakaris. Even known a few personally.  They are beacons.  Let us follow their examples of paropakaram, in our areas of competence, starting in a small way and expanding. As a personal action plan, first start young.  Do whatever little paropakaram can be done. Do it now.  Do not be tamasic and keep postponing.  Second, involve and guide the target beneficiaries.  Let them learn to help themselves, in future.  Third, as you grow older and have more knowledge, skills and resources, increase the size of your involvement. Fourth, focus on the local priorities in your town or city.  Often, food is the first need.  You can help with raising the productivity of land; harvesting; storage; distribution, etc.  Then comes health, literacy, skills, environment, etc.  Fifth, try to draw your spouse and children into  suitable bigger projects.  They will not only contribute, but also learn.  They may also become paropakaris on their own. Sixth, you can join as a part time volunteer in non government organisations that are doing good work, and later associate with them on a full-time basis.  This can spur you to identify neglected areas and needs, and start your own non government organisation, or become an advisor or mentor to any such organisation at national or even global level. There is no end to the opportunities for paropakaram!

Dr. M B Atreya