Charity, a hearty flow

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Amrit Sadhana [1]

If you have not seen the West Somerset Heritage Railway you should do so for one reason: what it means to share joy with others.
This steam railway runs on a cute little 20-mile track, winding through the breathtakingly scenic countryside of Southwest England. And equally adorable is the team of volunteers that runs the railway.
Yes, this railway is completely run by volunteers, which means unpaid workers. The first thing I noticed when I boarded the train was the genuine smile on the faces of this middle-aged staff. To my Indian eye a smiling ticket checker, or a whistling guard, a happy stationmaster and the friendly engine driver came as a shock. And their smiles were not professionally acquired ones; one could almost touch the warmth of their hearts. I couldn’t help asking my hostess, “Why do they look so happy?” She said, “Because they are not paid for doing this job. They do it out of their choice.”
Aha! Her answer hit the nail on the head. For this reminded me of an Osho insight into “work as meditation”. He says that if you don’t involve greed and expectation in your work, if you get involved with your total energy yet remain flexible, you become integrated, and your very work can become meditation. No other meditation will be needed. Those who work with such spirit radiate happiness because they have no selfish end to fulfil.
But this is not charity. This word has been distorted and has become ugly. The moment you hear “charity” you visualise serious-looking people giving away old clothes, medicines with their dates expired, laundering black money, having cameras focused on them while they are doing this “service”.
Charity does not mean that your bloated ego feels good that you have given, or that you oblige the person to whom you give. In Sufism, charity is called karamat. It also means a miracle, and Osho has given a new connotation to the word. He says that when you donate something you feel obliged that the other has taken it when you give out of your abundance. It is not that the other is needy and you are helping them; the other is not the question. You give because you have too much. When you share out of your abundance only then is there charity.
And then you don’t bother who is worthy of receiving it. The sun rises every morning and shares its light; is it giving charity? We can learn so much from nature. It is an art to share out of an overflow and feel grateful. The heart knows this art, so follow your heart.

Amrit Sadhana is in the management team of Osho International Meditation Resort, Pune. She facilitates meditation workshops around the country and abroad.