Humanity

Humanity, as defined by the Oxford dictionary refers to “the quality of being humane and kind-hearted”.
Thus humanity is nothing but the act of being helpful to our brothers and sisters in need. It is the act of tirelessly striving to give others what they don’t have.

It is the act of giving hope to the hopeless and home to the homeless. It is also the act that takes us one step closer to an eternal bliss and peace of mind. 

Few individuals, however, realized that God has given few of his children more resources so that they could be used to suffice his other children with lesser resources.

These individuals were known as humanitarians. History is filled with examples of these selfless people who have come forward with their own resources to help the needy, expecting nothing in return. It is because of them that the march of civilization is still moving forward or else we would have been burnt in our own fire of selfish greed.

Let us read a little yet inspiring story that is quite popular

A glass of Milk, paid in Full

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk.
He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for kindness.”

He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.
Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.

She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

“Paid in full with one glass of milk.

            Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.”

One can see how the doctor remembered the help and affection he received during his hardship and thus when he got the chance to repay it back, he did whatever he could to help the needy.

Peace in the world will come automatically if we start respecting each other’s culture, beliefs, and religion. We must do something good if we expect something good from others. Kill your own devil first before we help others to kill their demons or devils. Adopt humanity before we adopt any religion because it will make your path to God very easy.

Examples of people with exemplary humanitarian contribution

The world has seen many people who have done a selfless service to the needy and less privileged. Few names that cannot be overlooked are:

Mother Teresa of Calcutta – Mother Teresa is perhaps one of the best examples of people exhibiting impeccable humanity. She was an Albanian by birth and had come to India at a very young age in her early twenties, and lived the rest of her life here in Calcutta helping the under-privileged and needy. She also found the organization known as the Missionaries of Charity which cares for people who have diseases that are a taboo all over the globe, like leprosy, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis etc.

Bill Gates – The technological giant Bill Gates along with his wife Melinda has set up the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation that is the largest transparently operated private organization in the world. They provide global help to various causes in developing countries, like grants-in-aids for developing of schools and toilets in rural areas, for proper sanitation of women, etc.

Princess of Wales, Lady Diana – In spite of coming from a very privileged background, Princess of Wales, Diana, always worked for the upliftment of the helpless. She was associated with numerous humanitarian organizations including those that helped to feed the hungry and heal the ailing.

International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) – Commonly referred to as ‘Red Cross’, it is one of the oldest organized union of groups devoted to the cause of humanity. It was set up soon after the Second Italian War of Independence(1859) when the wounds of the great war was still afresh and about 40,000 soldiers died in a single day. Appalled by this calamity of human lives, Henry Dunant set up the ICRC in Geneva in 1863.

Action against Hunger – This organization is instrumental in providing food resources in places inflicted with famines and torn war zones where food is a scarcity. Their principal aim is to end world hunger. A world free from all kinds of ‘want’ is the need of the hour.

From these above examples, we can understand with further clarity, what humanity is. It is the act of doing something good for someone who doesn’t even know you and might never come to know you.

Humanity is to work expecting nothing in return. Many individuals see the act of doing something good for others as a means of promoting themselves as a brand and getting fame. They use the charity just to endear to the hearts of the people and get popular. 

One more story on how one person can also be the change and how humanity still exists.

All the Difference in the World

Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near my home.  There’s a lake located in one corner of the park.  Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her.
This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her.  As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap.  There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap.  She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.
“Hello,” I said.  “I see you here every Sunday morning.  If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.”
She smiled.  “I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied.  “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim.  It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.”

“Wow!  That’s really nice of you!” I exclaimed.

She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning, relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out.  It’s my own strange way of making a difference.”
“But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives with algae and scum hanging from their shells?” I asked.
“Yep, sadly, they do,” she replied.
I scratched my head.  “Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent?  I mean, I think your efforts are kind and all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the world.  And 99% of these turtles don’t have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells.  So, no offense… but how exactly are your localized efforts here truly making a difference?”

The woman giggled aloud.  She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.”
The moral:  You can change the world with humanity – maybe not all at once, but one person, one animal, and one good deed at a time.  Wake up every morning and pretend like what you do makes a difference, And it will.

Conclusion:
In today’s world, it has become a trend to do humanitarian work not for helping others but so that they could click selfies with downtrodden people ad post the pictures online for mere ‘likes’.
Our moral structure has fallen to such levels that, once in a blue moon, one billionaire goes to the street and clicks pictures with a broomstick, and he becomes the face of an entire campaign for cleanliness. This strange contradiction is perhaps what is called civilization.