Beggars

[curious_man]

wht does sikhi says for beggars/begging?

on my way to the office...i see so many beggars...climate is soo harsh... they have no homes... sometimes i feel pity and give them some change....

but i realized that begging is like there job... they r alwys thre on the same spot...now i cant give them moneydaily!!

dunno wht to say... just wanna know whts ure reaction... do u just ignore the beggars...

*** eh...just noticed...its my 400th post ...lol...tht was pretty quick following the 300th!!

[king singh]

[curious_man]

i m srry..i didn't understand tht tuk!!

[singhni84]

It isn't right to give money to someone who may use it for drugs, alcohol or tobacco. If you want to help them, give them food, give them your mittens.

If you want to help them on a bigger front, take political action against poverty. Poverty rates and the number of homeless people in Toronto is appalling. Pressure the government into providing more affordable housing, stop them from cutting things like the Special Diet Allowance.

[N30S1NGH]

It isn't right to give money to someone who may use it for drugs, alcohol or tobacco.  If you want to help them, give them food, give them your mittens.

If you want to help them on a bigger front, take political action against poverty.  Poverty rates and the number of homeless people in Toronto is appalling.  Pressure the government into providing more affordable housing, stop them from cutting things like the Special Diet Allowance.

141109[/snapback]

i agree with singhni ji here.

[Princess]

wht does sikhi says for beggars/begging?

on my way to the office...i see so many beggars...climate is soo harsh...  they have no homes... sometimes i feel pity and give them some change....

but i realized that begging is like there job... they r alwys thre on the same spot...now i cant give them moneydaily!!

dunno wht to say... just wanna know whts ure reaction... do u just ignore the beggars...

*** eh...just noticed...its my 400th post ...lol...tht was pretty quick following the 300th!!

141100[/snapback]

is ur office downtown area-ish ?

when i used to live in t.o. and we'd skip skool to go downtown we saw many beggers like u mentioned butt they were drug addicts and my older friends wud tell me that they used to offer them food (since giving them money wud just allow them to buy more drugs) but they wanted money instead

even wen i went to india u can tell who r beggers that reli hav no other means of earning money (if they hav no arms/legs, handicapped wit no education) and sum who r just not trying and r able to find a job

one time we went to a gurudwara in india and there were woman begging for money, and the parehdaar (hmm i cnt spell) there told us not to give her money, at first i wuz like wow tahts kinda harsh and he wont even tlel me why, that so sexist (cuz he wuz talkin to my dad n mama ji)

and then i asked them latr on whats up, n they didnt tell me either but they told my mom n mami ji so i got it outa em

they said it wuz cuz those women were prostitutes and druggies durin the nite and beggers by day (and use the money they make durin the day to buy drugs/proper clothes for prostitution)

[ladoo]

Yeaaaa don't give money. Buy them food, clothing or anything else that they might need.

Once I was about to get on the subway (toronto) and a guy was begging for money because he wanted to get on the subway to go somewere. So i thought i was being smart so i gave him a token instead. The guy takes the token, turns around and starts selling it to others

[TeraRoop11]

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

Very good question.. I love the questions you come up with.. this is probably very obvious, but your ID suits you very well..

OK to the topic - I went through a phase where I would give whatever change or things I had to the first 'beggar' I met on the street/in the BART.. I slowly came to realize not all of them use the money for food, as all of you obviously know.. this hit me when we were in New York one time, and Papa Ji and I were walking behind my mother and veer.. we passed by a row of homeless men, one of whom looked soo sickly and frail, and as though he hadn't eaten for days.. I knew Papa Ji never gave money to 'beggars' {whatever his reason was, I didn't know back then}, but seeing this man made me so sad, and like always, Papa Ji knew what was in my heart.. he gave him a few bucks.. about half an hour later we were walking back the same way, and we saw this same man with a couple of bottles of alcohol.. I think it was beer, not sure..

Giving food or clothes is better than giving money, however, there is an even better option.. if you are willing:

Take the person home - let them use your bathroom to get cleaned up, give them a change of clothes, give them something to eat, and sit down and talk to them.

Use what you've learned about them to figure out what they are qualified to do - see if you can get them a job. If they lack a complete high school education, tell them to talk to a nearby school to see what can be done. If they have completed high school, but no college, or some college.. have them talk to a community college to see what kind of financial aid they can receive to study.. if you are truly committed and want to make a difference, do your most to get this person to a level where they can qualify for a job, and begin to support themself..

Some people aren't willing to go this far, and that's quite understandable. However.. helping just one person in this way, can make the biggest difference..

Besides, it's not like this is the only thing you can do.. you can do less, you can even do more, it's up to each individual, what they're comfortable with, what they can afford, etc etc..

OK that's enough from me.

bhull chuk maaf

Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa! Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh!

[curious_man]

whoa.... i really forgot tht i had posted this topic

and i was searching it in the general section

anywys... those r deep replies.... ya..most of them just fake... i mean begging is their profession ..not need!!

i dont wanna give them food or clothing directly... i dunno i think it will be awkward... like giving clothing to them standing in middle of street...

but i guess thre must be organizations ..which if donated to ...will provide necessaties to the homeless...

so i will better donate them.... once i have some money left after paying my fees...

damn..i pay like $5000 CAD per semester..... all these univ. think tht international students r cash cows

anywys..thx for replies...i got ure point :TH:

[singh_sandhu]

well I go 2 uni down south of UK, I'm originally from the north but I realzid dat down south theres loadsa begger than the north. (Sorry I aynt dissing South ere, just my experience ov it) & if u giv money feeling sorry for the beggars they jus start 2 spend it on drugs, alcohol n cigarettes,

1nce i felt pity for this beggar i gave him £5 finkin yeh he really wants food n drink. Nex minute I saw the same man entering a pub with his bag full of money, so ma money went 2 waste. was well

Now I prefer to buy beggers food rather than give them money cuz they will spend it on all these drugz n alcohol, it's safe to give food insted !