Do Good to others

Why are we here?

Published in Central Chronicle Jan,19,2010
"Weekend" issue of Free Press, Indore Jan 24, 2010.

           Human life or whatever life on this planet is a gratuitous gift of God. Human beings owe more than any other creature to God as they have been granted the finest and the highest form of life as numinous beings. The Holy Bible says ‘God created human beings out of His free will and in His own image.’ The Vedas say ‘human life is attained only after going through about 84 million lives of other grades;’ even the gods long to be born as human beings on earth. The potential divinity in the human beings is universally accepted by all; or in other words, all believe in the presence of God within the human beings. Hence, it is meant to be lived as a noble life. Nothing can equal the worth of human life.

Now the question rises ‘how do we live a noble life, or how do we make the human life as meaningful one? The answer is: by doing noble things! The only way to find contentment and meaning in human life is to do good to others as much as one can. Do you know from the world history or even from the history of India, the persons who are remembered for doing good deeds? The history is filled with the examples of such noble people who lived this principle of doing good to others to their last inhalation. Some of the stirring examples of such people are Mother Teresa, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi and the list goes on. One thing is common in the lives of these great people ‘They lived for others.’ The real meaning of human life is to do good to others and be ready to lend a hand to others.

         Why one should do good to others? There is sufficient reason to live for oneself, one’s family and children etc. Is it not doing good to others and being of help to them? Just fulfilling your social obligation is not doing good. The good should be done to those who cannot reimburse the good done to them, and then only one receives the apt recompense for it. The Bhagvad Geeta says ‘do what is to be done, without expecting the fruit,’ in fact that is the true service.

          Mother Teresa never thought that by wiping the tears of millions of pitiable and suffering, she will be called ‘saint’ or she will turn into a great person. She did it only because she realized that God dwells in every person and she had to love that person for the same reason. The teachings of Swami Vivekananda were not meant for himself, but to teach the world to do good for others and comprehend the real worth of human life, and that’s why he has become ‘swami’ of many.

            One must become conscious that human life is not given again and again, hence to make this precious life meaningful, one should constantly aim to do good to others as much as one can because God dwells in all and because that is the purpose for which God has fashioned us out of His love.

                                                                                                                                                                     - B. Johnson Maria