CHARITY - Should we publicize???

My friend Sangeetha wrote a blog about this last month.  This blog can be viewed at: http://www.sangeethaarunachalam.com/?p=439

However, my views on charity is totally different.  I don’t think anybody should be publicizing about his or her charity work until and unless you want the entire world to praise you about what you have done.

In my opinion, the above applies only to individuals.  I am not saying trusts and other charitable organizations should keep a low profile.  These trusts and other charitable organizations are started with a vision to help the needy by collecting as much contribution as they can and hence requires publicity.

Jai Sarathy, Sangeetha and other younger generation people have started a trust called Manasika Foundation in Chennai.  They have their Facebook page and are doing whatever they can to help orphan children.

But as an individual, if I have to tell what all charity work I’ve done, then it is like I’m seeking some form of publicity from what I’ve done.  If that’s the case, then I won’t call the money given away as “charity” but rather would call it as “publicity expenses”!!!!!  

If our aim is to have publicity, why give money to some needy people, take photograph and publicize their inabilities and their need for money also along with our good publicity?  Just go ahead print posters, banners and stick it on every compound wall in your city… That will help I guess!

What is Charity?  As per Wikipedia, it is defined as the practice of benevolent giving and caring.   The term charity is derived from Jewish word Tzedakah, which is the Jewish concept of giving to worthy causes or people in need.

Now, what is worthy cause to you may not be worthy cause for me.   If I read about somebody doing a charity work and I feel it is not necessary to develop such things and encourage by giving charity, I get furious… Even though I don’t comment most of the times, I start to hate people offering and seeking charity for such acts.  By this publicity, actually sometimes we may all lose interest in charity and that’s one of the principle reason, I believe we should donate, help and contribute towards charity whichever we feel like doing without any publicity.

Why do we engage ourselves in charity activities?  For me personally, it’s for self-satisfaction.  A peace of mind when I know I’ve helped in some way to people who are in need.  If charity is for inner peace and self-satisfaction, why do we need to publicize it?

Charity takes many forms… Helping a beggar (disabled) on the road, giving money for school fees to needy parents in order to educate their children, giving books to children in need, helping orphanages to provide proper food, shelter and education to kids, etc.…etc.…

For many people, donations given to temples are also considered as charity.  In my opinion, whatever we do for a temple does not fall under the category charity.  If we donate money specifically for a free food scheme or education scheme of a temple or other religious institutions, then it can be called charity, as we know the money is used only for that purpose.  However, the money we put in the “hundi” of many temples cannot be called charity.  Most of the temples use such money for various other purposes (including complete golden karpagraham at Tirupati temple and other temple related works).

I am not against we offering money to temple or other religious institutions.  My point is that it cannot be called charity.   Such offerings to temples and other religious institutions take a total different aspect called religion and I’m not willing to dwell into that topic (at least for now).

So, bottom line, I don’t think we should be publicizing our charity works until and unless our only aim to do such things are for publicity.

Any comments, feedback, criticism from my friends?