Towards Freedom

India is gearing up to celebrate Independence Day and usher in the festival season. This is that time of year, when our achievements as a country are faithfully recounted by the media, the time when we promise to redeem our pledge to become a developed nation and take pride in our status as a thriving democracy. This year, all this will take place under the shadow of the Swine Flu. But even as the threat of the H1N1 virus looms large, we forget that there are many other shadows that are invisible but yet are a reality to millions of Indians : poverty, child labour, illiteracy, displacement, malnutrition, domestic violence, physical, mental and sexual abuse, unemployment, ignorance and the list could go on. All these get enough attention both in the Indian the world media.

But do we pay enough attention to these?

We need to ask ourselves this as we prepare to go on a long weekend break or lament the closure of malls and theatres in some cities just when there are holidays. As we reach for our credit cards to pay for that dinner at a fancy restaurant , or the Gucci bag, or the trekking shoes the extra shirt that we don't really need, we need to pause and think about all those who probably have not eaten in days, about the farmer who continues to kill himself, about the children who are out of school; the shoe shine boys, the children at traffic signals, the child infected with AIDS through no fault of his / hers, about the disabled with no home, about the juveniles, about the abandoned elderly, about the women who sell their bodies for a meal, about the planet that we all share and the depths to which we allow her to be degraded. The list is endless.

And as we gratefully usher in another Independence Day, we can, individually and collectively choose to set free all those imprisoned by the shadows. Let us resolve to contribute our time, effort and money for a cause that demands it. Each of us, can do this and bring about a change where each Indian is able to develop his / her capabilities to the fullest. We owe it to our country, to our fellow beings and most important to ourselves, to give and to give freely.

Let that be our pledge this Independence Day, to individually and collectively experience the Joy of Giving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wdlV22mDNE&NR=1

Joy of Giving Week (Sept. 27th to Oct. 3rd 2009)

a child’s delighted laughter at a surprise gift
the smile on the face of an elderly relative at an unexpected visit
the blush on the cheeks of a woman when she receives a red rose
the deep sleep of those in an orphanage in warm clothes
the look of relief on the neighbours face while holding his hand outside an ICU
the tears of joy on the faces of the displaced when given a shelter
the gesture of thanks from the weary villager after giving him a lift
banishing silence from the hearing impaired’s life by donating a hearing aid
helping the impoverished lead lives of dignity by enabling them to earn a living
the musical chirping of the birds on the trees we have helped nurture

All of this is our reward, a reward that is a joy and one that has come our way because we have given, we have given our time, our money and shared freely our skills and services .
The happiness is a result of our giving voluntarily, because we want to give and that is why our reward is “twice blessed”, blessing both the giver and the receiver. It is because of this, that the act of giving needs to be celebrated universally for it is the one act that spreads universal happiness (Sarvaha Sukhinobavantu) Would we like to continue to experience this joy ? Of course. And how do we make it possible ? Simply by reaffirming our commitment to giving.

That is what the Joy of Giving Week is all about; a week long commitment to giving, to sharing with those we love and those in need, our time, our resources and our joy. September 27th to October 3rd, all of us in India, will come together to celebrate the Joy of Giving Week, a festival where we share and give, and measure our worth not by how many gifts we have received or how much we have spent on ourselves, but by how many lives we have touched in unexpected and pleasurable ways.

Why do we have the Joy of Giving week ? How do we give ? To whom do we give ? Why should we give ? What do we gain by giving? How do we get others to give? When do we give? How can we continue to give? Who is giving?
All these questions and more will be answered in the weeks to come as we build support for this wonderful initiative to spread immeasurable joy by giving. A story to inspire us:
A woman who was traveling alone in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was hungry, the woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation..The traveler left, rejoicing in his great fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the woman."I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone."The woman smiled, "The joy of giving! (Author unknown)