A Wedding Gift You Give Yourself ; Can Change a Farmer’s Life

One might be wondering how a gift we present to our own self can change someone else’s life. Well you never know…

Even though many of us might not agree, in this day and age weddings have become commercialized. The amount of money we spend on the event not only defines our stature but also depicts how obsessed we are with all the unwarranted attention. I know this doesn’t make any sense to the people who have come here looking for some wisdom, because spending lavishly on a wedding doesn’t have anything to do with contribution to farming.

Or maybe it does, let me help you connect the dots..

Although we all like appreciating someone who goes out of the way to help others, we are still a little skeptical doing it ourselves. Let me give you a small example; recently a young couple opted for a simple register marriage and used the wedding money to serve the poor. I have seen lot of people sharing the article on social media and discuss how much of a great deed it was. But I doubt how many of us would actually have guts or heart to do the same without coming under the peer pressure? 

After I got married recently I had a brief conversation with one of my friends, he is a part of an NGO (Sarvodaya Mitra Mandali Trust) which majorly contributes to the upliftment of society. I say society in general because we have so many issues to be taken care of and it will be a huge lie if I just use the words “poor”, “downtrodden” or “underprivileged”. Anyway coming back to the earlier discussion, my friend asked me what I think of gau dhan and if I would like to contribute towards. I knew what cow donation was, but I never understood how I could be any help in this matter.

In India we have a concept called Gau Dhan or Cow Donation. Each of us might have a different belief/story behind it, but I am not here to talk about that. I have always wanted to do my share for the well being of society in some manner or the other and I have tried in some little way ever since. Before everyone feels that I am blowing my own trumpet, I would like to share something honest and beautiful.

During our conversation, this is what my friend said and I think it made absolute sense. “You must have spent a good amount of money on your wedding. Likewise if you could just keep some money aside as a part of wedding expense and contribute to gau dhan, it can not only be virtuous thing to do after the wedding might as well help a family with their living”. When I started analyzing I realized how we all miss this rationale; “what is less for you can be more for others”.

Even if we could bestow 0.5% to 1% of our wedding expense to something like this we could make lives of so many- specially the farmers. I say farmers because all these years we have heard about their struggles but know nothing at all. Throwing more light on the issue, farmers have always looked for better alternatives to practice agriculture, but may be having a little back up plan might benefit them tad bit more. Recent research by an engineer who founded a start up called “Cowism” not only interpreted how a harmless animal like cow – could be solution to some of the farmer problems but can also help in laying a better foundation for profitable farming and agricultural growth.

To learn more about this, you can go through the link below: http://www.thebetterindia.com/54766/one-cow-one-farmer-chetan-raut-cowism-farmer-suicides/

I am not making a point by any means that only the newly married or the ones who are getting married are qualified to do this, anyone who is strong willed is always welcome. While most of us are looking for million reasons to celebrate every day, just coming together with even a miniscule donation can do wonders for many others.

Anyone who is willing to donate through the NGO is most welcome, you can follow their work on facebook page too. Here's the link: Sarvodaya Mitra Mandali Trust

The sanctity with which we offer help can be equivalent to the sanctity of marriage.