Silent Mentors

Silent Mentors. Mentor is a person whom you look upto in life.You follow that person's life journey, get inspired and motivated to do something similar. As kids,we all were taught to dollop great leaders Mahatma Gandhiji, Subhashchandra Bose.....Spiritual leaders like Sant Ramdas,Sant Dyaneshwar( me being from Maharashtra),..... Philanthropist like Jyotiba Phule,Savitribai Phule....and Shivaji Maharaj,the Great. In recent years,the trends have changed.The Gen Z is motivated by Bill Gates,Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone. I don't intend to demean or belittle their success and hard work.....absolutely not. Times have changed.Priorities have changed with needs of the century. This blog has no intention of preaching or advocating anything or anyone. Today's blog is about simple people I have met in my life ....from childhood to today....whose simplicity towards life per se has inspired and motivated me to be a better person every day. In my previous blogs, I have written about my Grandmother, my parents, Teachers who have inspired me. Today, I write about a couple....( names will not be mentioned because I haven't taken their permission).... I met during my MBBS days..... This is not a biography. Thus blog is dedicated to all those simple middle class people who contribute to the society in their own small gestures. Nobody notices them.No media writes or highlights them or their work.But they don't go unnoticed by people who get inspired by them. My Silent Mentors.....a word coined by me to express gratitude to them. This couple were my batchmate's parents.Uncle had a lineage family.His father had returned from UK and decided to start his medical practice in a village in Mumbai....belonging to the Fisherman society. He not only gave medical care but also built schools and did philanthropy work for uplifting the local fishermen families. My friend's parents continued the Philanthropist work of the patron in their own way. Being a middle class family,having their own struggles....the couple has helped orphanages,old age homes and destitute people. They love nature and same values they transferred into their both daughters. Today,the couple enjoys a retired life...they have aged by age.....but still never get tired working for the NGO which works for destitute kids welfare and education. Uncle writes poetry and articles in newspapers which motivate senior citizens and youth .A very positive and pragmatic couple who supported each other in every walk of life. This couple taught me importance of empathy. One need not be very powerful or resourceful to contribute to society. In our own routine day to day life, we can do so many things in order to improve society and surrounding. Philanthropy does not require much wealth.With our meager income, just a will to give back to society is required to contribute physically..... Here I feel like stressing.....just giving huge donations ( in name of Tax Benefits, CSR activity)....is not Philanthropy. Simple actions like spending an hour reading a book to an elderly and spending some moments with them..... Teaching a destitute so that he gets empowered to pursue education or jobs. Planting trees every where.... Keeping surrounding clean.... Helping the needy...... These are simple things...which don't award us in materialistic sense.....nor get highlighted. But these gestures make others life get better....spread affection and positivity. These small acts of kindness empower many in the society.... We ourselves don't realise the value of a simple act of helpfulness ....from our end..... that would make a lot of difference in the life of unknown people in society. Dear Friends.... Life is precious. Life is short.How best we make out of our lives depends totally upon us. Enjoying the simplicity of life....spreading joy and affection around..... We must work to make our life comfortable....yes ...very necessary. But at the same time, we must contribute to society around us.....Neither does it require more money,any power or much energy.....just a big heart, full of love and empathy. Silent Mentors do this work thoughtfully and motivate their kids and me..... - Written with Gratitude..... By Dr Tripti Milind Galgali Hubli.A simple citizen of India. .