Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Thinking beyond ourselves...
…. “We must contemplate the shortcomings of self-centeredness”....
…….I read in the book “An Open Heart” – Practising Compasion in Everyday life – The Dalai Lama edited by Nicholas Vreeland.
Quoting from the book again “It is also important that we reflect upon the kindness of others…. We must recognize how our fotune is really dependent upon the cooperation and contribution of others”.
When I read this, I was reminded of the kindness of a friend, about her giving back. This is a personal story she shared with me. I was awed by her large heartedness and by the treatment that she and her family metted out to those who worked for them for over two years. It showed me that significant individual monetary donations can change lives …
A “Pentioners Paradise” to a “City of Expats” it seems to be morfing, this Bangalore is. There are many NRIs who have returned to “big”: positions with huge salaries (huge because they get paid their American or European salaries to live and work in India for short periods of time – say a couple of years)
ASIDE: I got this from an Atlas book Maya bought recently. India’s GDP (PPP US$) is 2,670. Contrast this with GDP of UK – about 10 times more at 26,150 and that of US at 35,750 – over 13 times more!
Some of them ex-pats are sharing their fortunes and making a difference in the lives of people they meet. It’s wonderful to come across these people, who are contributing to our communities, albeit in small numbers - uplifting the needy, doing their small part in bridging the economic divide, increasing the strength of the growing middle class in Bangalore….
She was an acquaintance at first and then I got to know her more as a colleage and a friend. I remember her mentioning that she would give some significant donation to her domestic helpers when she left. She spoke about it – about ther intention to help people who had made their life comfortable here.
Here’s what she shared with me…
“You may appreciate this…..
When we lived in Bangalore, we had a driver, a cook and a baby sitter. They were very good people though unreliable and needed some large amount of herding. Nevertheless we had them in our employment all for the whole 2.5 years we lived there and they helped us tremendously. Without them I couldn’t have worked and performed as well as I did.
When we left, we gave them each a bunch of money. We thought that maybe we could help turn their lives around rather than give dribs and drabs. So with the 60K we gave our driver, he bought a new car. He supports a wife, parents and three children. When we arrived, he was clearing just around 6k a month which was barely enough. Now he is renting out the car he bought and is clearing around 25K each month. He said that what we did was a turning point in his life!!! I am very proud.
I debate about telling this to anyone but maybe just maybe it may inspire someone else to do the same.
The cook unfortunately has been sick and hasn’t mentioned the money or what she did with it. I sure hope the 50K is not all spent
The babysitter tried a business venture but it failed. She is waiting to get married. At least the 40K will help her rather than get her family into debt – even though I totally disagree with the dowry system, she has to follow it”
I was moved by this and asked her permission to share this. I could not have said it better, so instead or paraphrasing, I’m it sharing it verbatim.
My friend and her family are off to another country, another city. They carry their large-heartedness with them and I’m sure they are “Making a Difference” in the lives of some others who they are in contact with now.
Continuing the quote from “An Open Heart”….
“We must help others to the degree that we can…..As our selfish ways diminish and our altruism grows, we become happier, as do those around us”
….
“Every aspect of our present well-being is due the hard work on the part of others. As we look around us at the buildings we live and work in, the roads we travel, the clothes we wear, or the food we eat, we must acknowledge that all are provided by others. None of these would exist for us, to enjoy and make use of, were it not for the kindness of so many people unknown to us. As we contemplate in this manner, our appreciation for others grows, so does our empathy and closeness to them”
Such a simple thought, yet so profound!! I could not help ponder on this …and smile with a sense of gratitude at the sweeper who was cleaning our very dusty road, early one morn.
Continuing to quote from Dalai Lama’s words from the book “Open Heart”
“… So much work has gone into providing us with the shirt we are wearing, from planting the cotton seed to weaving the fabric and sewing the garment. The slice of bread we eat had to be baked by someone. The wheat had to be planted by someone else, and after irrigation and fertilization had to be harvested and milled into flour. This had to be kneaded into dough and then baked appropriately. It would be impossible to count all the people involved with providing us with a simple slice of bread. In many cases machines do a lot of the work; however they had to be invented and produced and must be supervised”
….. I will have a whole new outlook when I get by next loaf of freshly baked bread from our nearby Melkote Iyengar bakery :)
…….I read in the book “An Open Heart” – Practising Compasion in Everyday life – The Dalai Lama edited by Nicholas Vreeland.
Quoting from the book again “It is also important that we reflect upon the kindness of others…. We must recognize how our fotune is really dependent upon the cooperation and contribution of others”.
When I read this, I was reminded of the kindness of a friend, about her giving back. This is a personal story she shared with me. I was awed by her large heartedness and by the treatment that she and her family metted out to those who worked for them for over two years. It showed me that significant individual monetary donations can change lives …
A “Pentioners Paradise” to a “City of Expats” it seems to be morfing, this Bangalore is. There are many NRIs who have returned to “big”: positions with huge salaries (huge because they get paid their American or European salaries to live and work in India for short periods of time – say a couple of years)
ASIDE: I got this from an Atlas book Maya bought recently. India’s GDP (PPP US$) is 2,670. Contrast this with GDP of UK – about 10 times more at 26,150 and that of US at 35,750 – over 13 times more!
Some of them ex-pats are sharing their fortunes and making a difference in the lives of people they meet. It’s wonderful to come across these people, who are contributing to our communities, albeit in small numbers - uplifting the needy, doing their small part in bridging the economic divide, increasing the strength of the growing middle class in Bangalore….
She was an acquaintance at first and then I got to know her more as a colleage and a friend. I remember her mentioning that she would give some significant donation to her domestic helpers when she left. She spoke about it – about ther intention to help people who had made their life comfortable here.
Here’s what she shared with me…
“You may appreciate this…..
When we lived in Bangalore, we had a driver, a cook and a baby sitter. They were very good people though unreliable and needed some large amount of herding. Nevertheless we had them in our employment all for the whole 2.5 years we lived there and they helped us tremendously. Without them I couldn’t have worked and performed as well as I did.
When we left, we gave them each a bunch of money. We thought that maybe we could help turn their lives around rather than give dribs and drabs. So with the 60K we gave our driver, he bought a new car. He supports a wife, parents and three children. When we arrived, he was clearing just around 6k a month which was barely enough. Now he is renting out the car he bought and is clearing around 25K each month. He said that what we did was a turning point in his life!!! I am very proud.
I debate about telling this to anyone but maybe just maybe it may inspire someone else to do the same.
The cook unfortunately has been sick and hasn’t mentioned the money or what she did with it. I sure hope the 50K is not all spent
The babysitter tried a business venture but it failed. She is waiting to get married. At least the 40K will help her rather than get her family into debt – even though I totally disagree with the dowry system, she has to follow it”
I was moved by this and asked her permission to share this. I could not have said it better, so instead or paraphrasing, I’m it sharing it verbatim.
My friend and her family are off to another country, another city. They carry their large-heartedness with them and I’m sure they are “Making a Difference” in the lives of some others who they are in contact with now.
Continuing the quote from “An Open Heart”….
“We must help others to the degree that we can…..As our selfish ways diminish and our altruism grows, we become happier, as do those around us”
….
“Every aspect of our present well-being is due the hard work on the part of others. As we look around us at the buildings we live and work in, the roads we travel, the clothes we wear, or the food we eat, we must acknowledge that all are provided by others. None of these would exist for us, to enjoy and make use of, were it not for the kindness of so many people unknown to us. As we contemplate in this manner, our appreciation for others grows, so does our empathy and closeness to them”
Such a simple thought, yet so profound!! I could not help ponder on this …and smile with a sense of gratitude at the sweeper who was cleaning our very dusty road, early one morn.
Continuing to quote from Dalai Lama’s words from the book “Open Heart”
“… So much work has gone into providing us with the shirt we are wearing, from planting the cotton seed to weaving the fabric and sewing the garment. The slice of bread we eat had to be baked by someone. The wheat had to be planted by someone else, and after irrigation and fertilization had to be harvested and milled into flour. This had to be kneaded into dough and then baked appropriately. It would be impossible to count all the people involved with providing us with a simple slice of bread. In many cases machines do a lot of the work; however they had to be invented and produced and must be supervised”
….. I will have a whole new outlook when I get by next loaf of freshly baked bread from our nearby Melkote Iyengar bakery :)
# posted by Sri Renganathan @ 3:40 AM 
