A DM (District Magistrate) had an office with a window overlooking a busy street. Thousands of people and vehicles would pass by the window every day. The DM would closely observe the populace's troubles, problems, and pains through the window.
On one very cold – snowing and windy morning, as he opened the blinds from the window, the DM noticed a homeless man sitting on a bench across the street - shivering and trying to keep himself warm by placing his head tucked in the bundled-up hands and legs - the whole body together.
Seeing the man's predicament, the DM asked the PA; his Personal Assistant to go check on the man and ask him how he could be helped. The PA, after inquiring, reported that the man was a poor beggar and needed a warm blanket to survive. The DM ordered that the man should be given a blanket.
The next morning, when the DM looked through the window, he saw that the poor man was still out in the cold, lying on the bench - shivering - without a blanket. He asked the PA the reason for this negligence. The PA replied that he had passed on his order to the ADM to handle the matter promptly.
When asked why it was not followed up, the ADM said there were thousands of such homeless people in the district. If one person was given a blanket, there would be a public outcry about the partiality of such generosity towards one person - unless all the others beggars are also given the same. The government must be impartial towards everyone. Since there are so many poor homeless people out there who need help - we should start a new program such as 'Provide blankets to all homeless' - or "Provide a blanket and save a life".
Under this scheme, every such person who needs help would be eligible and there would not be any allegations of partiality against us.
The DM liked the idea and ordered it to be implemented immediately.
Next morning the DM noticed that the homeless man was still on the bench across the road without a blanket.
When asked, the ADM replied that in order to handle the matter appropriately and more efficiently, a new department for blanket-distribution has been created. They will find out the number of beggars and prepare a list of all homeless people in the area - and obtain the appropriate number of blankets to be distributed.
Next day, the DM saw the homeless man still shivering on the bench suffering in the brutal cold, his health deteriorating.. Filled with compassion and sympathy, he asked the PA to inquire into the matter.
The PA reported that the Blanket Department had ordered short-term bids for quotations for blanket supply from several vendors. The blankets would be ordered as soon as they receive a reasonable bid. The DM ordered that this matter should be handled as a priority so that man could be helped as soon as possible.
Next day, the DM again saw the man on the bench - still without the blanket.
Angrily, he summoned the PA for a full report.
A few minutes later, a detailed report was presented to the DM – along with a bid to be approved and signed by the DM. The DM was beginning to lose his patience. He quickly signed the approval and asked to speed up the process.
However, the next day, the DM again saw the man on the bench – still shivering with no sign of a blanket.
Filled with anger, the DM summoned the director of the new blanket department who reported that the order for the blankets was placed, and promised that the distribution of blankets would start before the end of the day.
The next morning the DM saw from his window that a small crowd had gathered around the bench where the homeless person used to sleep. He asked the PA to inquire about the situation.
The PA returned to break the news that the old man had died in the night because of cold.
The DM was shocked. He got very upset and immediately summoned the head of the blanket department to know why the man was not given a blanket night before.
The director politely informed that they had purchased the blankets and started distribution, but just before that man's turn, they had fallen short of one blanket.
"Why was there a shortage? I was told that a list of the exact number of homeless people had been prepared properly". The DM asked.
Director: "Yes sir. The list was accurate and in fact, we had purchased more blankets than the requirement. But when the distribution started, some unscrupulous, dishonest people had also posed as homeless to take away the free blankets. Although we were very careful and had ordered a much higher number than needed - we still fell short of just one blanket."
"Why this man was not considered a priority and given a blanket sooner since he had been suffering for so many nights in the cold?" The DM Asked.
The director replied:
"To avoid the allegations of partiality and bias, we had started to distribute blankets based on the alphabetical order of their names.
And this man's name started with the letter 'Z'.
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
And this is the way things are being run today by the governments and organizations.
The whole system is unnecessarily complicated and entangled.
Had the DM just given a blanket directly to that man, then at least one life could have been saved.
So, if you really want to help the poor and needy, do it yourself.
Do not wait for the system.
That poor man died because of the bureaucracy - a slow system where every little thing has to go through so many steps of processing and approvals.
Don't become part of a slow system - Be a part of Humanity.
Do not wait for big events and special occasions.
Instead of creating an event for showing-off -- keep your intentions pure and simple - Just for the sake of helping the needy.
Maybe your help can save some lives this winter.
Rather than wasting time on depending - or blaming on the system - let’s try to be a kind and generous person to uplift the fellow human beings.
On one very cold – snowing and windy morning, as he opened the blinds from the window, the DM noticed a homeless man sitting on a bench across the street - shivering and trying to keep himself warm by placing his head tucked in the bundled-up hands and legs - the whole body together.
Seeing the man's predicament, the DM asked the PA; his Personal Assistant to go check on the man and ask him how he could be helped. The PA, after inquiring, reported that the man was a poor beggar and needed a warm blanket to survive. The DM ordered that the man should be given a blanket.
The next morning, when the DM looked through the window, he saw that the poor man was still out in the cold, lying on the bench - shivering - without a blanket. He asked the PA the reason for this negligence. The PA replied that he had passed on his order to the ADM to handle the matter promptly.
When asked why it was not followed up, the ADM said there were thousands of such homeless people in the district. If one person was given a blanket, there would be a public outcry about the partiality of such generosity towards one person - unless all the others beggars are also given the same. The government must be impartial towards everyone. Since there are so many poor homeless people out there who need help - we should start a new program such as 'Provide blankets to all homeless' - or "Provide a blanket and save a life".
Under this scheme, every such person who needs help would be eligible and there would not be any allegations of partiality against us.
The DM liked the idea and ordered it to be implemented immediately.
Next morning the DM noticed that the homeless man was still on the bench across the road without a blanket.
When asked, the ADM replied that in order to handle the matter appropriately and more efficiently, a new department for blanket-distribution has been created. They will find out the number of beggars and prepare a list of all homeless people in the area - and obtain the appropriate number of blankets to be distributed.
Next day, the DM saw the homeless man still shivering on the bench suffering in the brutal cold, his health deteriorating.. Filled with compassion and sympathy, he asked the PA to inquire into the matter.
The PA reported that the Blanket Department had ordered short-term bids for quotations for blanket supply from several vendors. The blankets would be ordered as soon as they receive a reasonable bid. The DM ordered that this matter should be handled as a priority so that man could be helped as soon as possible.
Next day, the DM again saw the man on the bench - still without the blanket.
Angrily, he summoned the PA for a full report.
A few minutes later, a detailed report was presented to the DM – along with a bid to be approved and signed by the DM. The DM was beginning to lose his patience. He quickly signed the approval and asked to speed up the process.
However, the next day, the DM again saw the man on the bench – still shivering with no sign of a blanket.
Filled with anger, the DM summoned the director of the new blanket department who reported that the order for the blankets was placed, and promised that the distribution of blankets would start before the end of the day.
The next morning the DM saw from his window that a small crowd had gathered around the bench where the homeless person used to sleep. He asked the PA to inquire about the situation.
The PA returned to break the news that the old man had died in the night because of cold.
The DM was shocked. He got very upset and immediately summoned the head of the blanket department to know why the man was not given a blanket night before.
The director politely informed that they had purchased the blankets and started distribution, but just before that man's turn, they had fallen short of one blanket.
"Why was there a shortage? I was told that a list of the exact number of homeless people had been prepared properly". The DM asked.
Director: "Yes sir. The list was accurate and in fact, we had purchased more blankets than the requirement. But when the distribution started, some unscrupulous, dishonest people had also posed as homeless to take away the free blankets. Although we were very careful and had ordered a much higher number than needed - we still fell short of just one blanket."
"Why this man was not considered a priority and given a blanket sooner since he had been suffering for so many nights in the cold?" The DM Asked.
The director replied:
"To avoid the allegations of partiality and bias, we had started to distribute blankets based on the alphabetical order of their names.
And this man's name started with the letter 'Z'.
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
And this is the way things are being run today by the governments and organizations.
The whole system is unnecessarily complicated and entangled.
Had the DM just given a blanket directly to that man, then at least one life could have been saved.
So, if you really want to help the poor and needy, do it yourself.
Do not wait for the system.
That poor man died because of the bureaucracy - a slow system where every little thing has to go through so many steps of processing and approvals.
Don't become part of a slow system - Be a part of Humanity.
Do not wait for big events and special occasions.
Instead of creating an event for showing-off -- keep your intentions pure and simple - Just for the sake of helping the needy.
Maybe your help can save some lives this winter.
Rather than wasting time on depending - or blaming on the system - let’s try to be a kind and generous person to uplift the fellow human beings.
Satyabachan Ji 🙏
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