Charity

Painting: 'Roman Charity' by Willem Drost (c. 1655-57)

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Charity is an act of kindness and compassion that involves giving resources such as money, time, and effort to help those in need. The goal of charity is to help alleviate suffering and provide support to individuals and communities that are facing challenges or in need.

This idea or act of charity is supported by masses whereas there are also a few who vehemently oppose it. One of the few opponents of the concept of charity was Friedrich Nietzsche.

Friedrich Nietzsche had a critical perspective on charity, which he believed were often motivated by feelings of pity and guilt, and served to perpetuate the suffering of the weak. In his view, charity was often a way for the powerful to assert their superiority over the weak, rather than a genuine act of compassion.

Keeping this perspective in mind, today we are going to discuss not about charity but about the sources and intent behind charity. In order to give something to charity you first need to earn it and that too in surplus (You can be an exception to this if you are 'Karn' of Mahabharat.).

You can earn this surplus in different ways. Firstly by utilising your talent, time and energy which is mostly done by workers, employees and professionals. Secondly by exploiting men or natural resources which is mostly done by corporate and business houses. It can be through bribes or any other form of corruption as in the case of political masters and bureaucrats. It can also be in the form of a gift which you receive in lieu of your social position. And finally if you believe in Robinhood Philosophy your earning can be in the form of looting the wealthy. Before moving further I want to clarify that in the aforementioned lines I neither mean to say that all the corporate houses are exploitative nor all the bureaucrats and politicians are corrupt.

Some people will classify the above mentioned sources into two broad categories viz. righteous and unjust. But does it matter to the needy who is on the receiving end whether you have utilised righteous or unjust sources for the purpose of charity? For example, does it affect a destitute shivering in a dark cold wintery night whether the blanket she is receiving has been earned by you through hardwork or bribe or theft or is simply a gift from your subordinate? Does using unjust sources for doing charity makes it a less good act?

If Nietzsche would have been alive he must have argued that a person doing charity by using unjust resources must be doing so because of his guilty conscience. Nietzsche may be right. Nietzsche may be wrong. But does it even matter to the destitute receiving the blanket? Just think about it.

Similarly now let us talk about the intent or mens rea behind a charitable act. Some people do charity to help the needy. Some do it for publicity. Some indulge in it due to their religious beliefs. Whereas some are compelled by the authority as is the case of Corporate Social Responsibility. Now the question is does the intent of an entity behind doing a charitable act even matter to the person or the group of persons who are at the receiving end?

Some people argue that charity should be done in complete anonymity. But will it be more helpful to the destitute who is shivering in the dark cold night?

Before answering these questions we need to first understand that we are inconsequential cosmic dust, bumping and milling about on a tiny blue speck. We imagine our own importance. We invent our purpose. Actually we are nothing. The universe is too big to be affected by the small acts that we do. It has its own process of homeostasis. So we should stop thinking too much.

Charity is a simple act. Neither it's good nor bad. The sources used for charity don't matter. Your intent behind doing charity also doesn't matter. Whether you do it in broad daylight or you do it inside the cave of anonymity it will not affect the needy. The only thing that matters is whether you like to do charity or not. If you like it then do it and if you don't like it then don't worry you are just being human.

Until Next Time,

Ashutosh