In His Footsteps

Conservatory Orchid, Ginter Botanical Gardens, Richmond, VA

I tell you the truth: whatever you did for one of the

least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.

Matthew 25:40

In 2002, Narayanan Krishman was an award-winning chef in his early 20’s from a privileged Indian family, working for a five-star hotel and short-tracked to a prestigious promotion to Switzerland when he passed an old man in the street that was eating his own human waste for food.  Krishman was a Brahmin, who are taught that they do not touch, feed, or care for the outcasts of society.  The sight of the old man so moved him, however, that he walked away from his career, and for the last ten years has spent his days caring for 400+ people in the streets of India.

Krishman prepares three meals a day, which he takes out to the destitute of his hometown.  He hands out the food primarily to the elderly and those with mental illness.  If they are unable to feed themselves, he feeds them by hand.  He bathes the men, gives them haircuts and a shave.  He loves and cares for them as if they were his own family.  Krishman believes that the food he provides gives the people physical nutrition, but the love and affection shown in the care for their bodies gives them mental nutrition. 

Most of us will never be able to do what Mr. Krishman has done and continues to do.  But we can give.  We who are so amazingly privileged can reach out to the segments of our own society who are left behind in the dust of human progress.  We can forego having a yard sale and give our unwanted items to Goodwill or some other charity caring for the mentally disabled.  We can fill a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, or adopt an Angel Tree child at Christmas.  We can give to the homeless family with a cardboard sign, leaving it up to God as to how they spend the money.  We can volunteer our time at hospitals, charities, and nursing homes.  We can actively check in with our elderly friends and neighbors, seeking a way to make their lives a little more comfortable.  Our efforts may not seem like much in the overall big picture, but we can, like Mr. Krishman, brighten the corner where we are.