Deepak Chopra
Special to CNN
Editor's note: Deepak Chopra is a medical doctor, celebrity lecturer and author of more than 40 books on spirituality and mind-body medicine. He is best-known for his book "Ageless Body, Timeless Mind." Chopra was a Blue Ribbon Panel member who helped select the Top 10 CNN Heroes in 2007 and 2008.
Charity has always been a part of every spiritual tradition, and learning to give is an essential part of everyone's inner growth. However, charity has a dirty little secret that few of us want to face. It can fail or backfire. Our gifts can be squandered. A dollar given with compassion may wind up lining the pockets of someone who doesn't deserve it.
It's a healthy sign that the public has become more aware of these drawbacks. Yet we have to be careful to ward off cynicism. To stop giving would be the wrong choice.
Here's how I empower my own giving while at the same time bringing the compassionate gift closer to the right receiver.
First of all, fuel an aspiration. The most hopeless people in the world aren't the poorest; they're the ones who can never fulfill even a tiny dream. As a group, women are the largest population of the helpless, so I look to help them any way I can.
| SLM |
October 28th, 2009 12:33 pm ET There is no longer a need to give to charities, Obama will take from those that work to give to those that don't. Even if we could, we can no longer afford to give to charity, Obama took the "change" out of my pocket............guess we didn't know what we were voting for when he said "change" |
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| Heidi |
October 28th, 2009 12:55 pm ET Well said Dr. Chopra! This is good advice for anyone! |
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| Julie |
October 28th, 2009 4:13 pm ET Excellent article. Deepak is a respected author who runs a wellness center, the Chopra Center, in my community of Carlsbad. I discontinued my donations to CARE when I found out that their CEO, Helene Gayle, takes in a salary of almost four hundred thousand dollars a year. In this economy, where people with advanced degrees are cashiering at craft stores to make ends meet, that kind of "executive compensation" for a charity is obscene. Look up some of this compensation on the website called "Charity Navigator". I now contribute to local organizations or directly to individuals in need. It's just too easy for these large charities to pocket the funds. It's no wonder that Africans and the poor around the world continue to starve when our donations are funding the lifestyles of people who supposedly work for "non-profits". |
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