Page 132 - SocialHarmony

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Experiencing the Emotions

(At the inauguration of Dr. P.V. Doshi School for the
Deaf and Dumb, Rajkot)

What should be the approach towards the handicapped in
our society? If some person is handicapped in one family,
his responsibility should be taken up by the entire society
instead of that family alone. If the entire society helps that family,
the burden will be removed. Such an exercise should be carried
out with a feeling of responsibility rather than pity or mercy,
without which it will not be service in the true sense. When
God inspires us to do such noble work, we must empathize and
feel the same pain that he feels. If we are unable to experience
this, we are emotionally handicapped. All of us should do a
self-introspection to make sure that we are not emotionally
handicapped. If one feels kindness for society, one sees every
person as a brother. Only the immediate family of a handicapped
person can imagine the trauma and stress associated with taking
care of him. Any institute working for this objective is
accomplishing a great achievement. I don’t think there can be a
greater benevolence than this.

One such rare combination of duty and kindness was seen
in the life of Pappaji (Late Shri Pranlal Vrajlal Doshi, RSS
Coordinator, Gujarat). The school for the deaf and dumb at
Rajkot is noteworthy. Pappaji’s own daughter was handicapped.
He merged his family’s defect with the entire society and
resolved to provide to every handicapped child everything that
he would give his own daughter. The school for the deaf and