Charity & Service as Part of Spiritual Growth
On the spiritual path, it is important to donate time, money and whatever gifts one has to whatever organizations one belongs to as well as those less fortunate as it is an aspect of self-mastery and spiritual growth. The more a person is involved in serving a charitable organization or helping others in a positive way without any expectation of reward the better, as it opens the heart and an expanded heart puts one directly on the spiritual path.
Christian Children's Fund (CCF) / Child Fund International
Besides donating time and serving in various positions in numerous organizations most of my life, have also donated money, food, and items for fund-raising purposes in the organizations where I was a member as well as a variety of charities. These are too numerous to mention, however one organization I was associated with for 20 years was the Christian Children's Fund (CCF), now called Child Fund International. Over that period of time, sponsored a total of three children in Southern India who lived in extreme poverty. The funding provided my sponsored child at least one good meal a day, education, and medical assistance. The first child was Vinod who left at 14 to become a book binder. The second was Kavitha who left at 16 to become a seamstress. And, the third was Rakesh who began college but whose home and milk-producing income cow were destroyed in a monsoon forcing him to live and work with an uncle. Children often have to work at a young age in the poverished sections of India to help support their family. Had a correspondence with all of them via mail. They wrote in their own language and provided drawings with lots of hugs and kisses (Xs and Os) but a social worker translated their writings into English before sending everything to me. At the end of a school year I got their grades by subject matter and sometimes a new photograph. At Christmas I would send a check based on the amount the CCF recommended and found out afterwards it went a long way to buying clothing, some sweets, a water jug, or something to shore up their one-room, poorly constructed home. When a child left the CCF project, I would get the photo and details of a new child in the same Project. Unfortunately, I never had the funds or time to travel to India to meet them and had no contact after they left the Project, but I often think of them and send them prayers for their health and harmony.