How can I stop regretting about the mishappening in the world?

Question

I am a student whose duty is to study but it worries me that I cannot contribute to betterment of world or society. Do our Hindu scriptures says anything about our duty towards world or society? Or how we are supposed to contribute towards betterment of it?

Answer 1

Yes, Hindu shastra does talk about our duty towards others. If you see someone wasting his life then you should urge him to mend his ways. That is all you have to do and in practical point of view can do. If he doesn't mend his ways then there is nothing more you can do. Remember that everyone has karmic history and so acts according to their karma. All you can do is to serve others to the best of your ability.

Liberality

1. THE Gods have not ordained hunger to be our death: even to the well-fed man comes death in varied shape. The riches of the liberal never waste away, while he who will not give finds none to comfort him. 2 The man with food in store who, when the needy comes in miserable case begging for bread to eat, Hardens his heart against him-even when of old he did him service-finds not one to comfort him. 3 Bounteous is he who gives unto the beggar who comes to him in want of food and feeble. Success attends him in the shout of battle. He makes a friend of him in future troubles. 4 No friend is he who to his friend and comrade who comes imploring food, will offer nothing. Let him depart-no home is that to rest in-, and rather seek a stranger to support him. 5 Let the rich satisfy the poor implorer, and bend his eye upon a longer pathway. Riches come now to one, now to another, and like the wheels of cars are ever rolling. 6 The foolish man wins food with fruitless labour: that food -I speak the truth- shall be his ruin. He feeds no trusty friend, no man to love him. All guilt is he who eats with no partaker. 7 The ploughshare ploughing makes the food that feeds us, and with its feet cuts through the path it follows. Better the speaking than the silent Brahman: the liberal friend out yalues him who gives not. 8 He with one foot hath far outrun the biped, and the two-footed catches the three-footed. Four-footed creatures come when bipeds call them, and stand and look where five are met together. 9 The hands are both alike: their labour differs. The yield of sister milch-kine is unequal. Twins even differ in their strength and vigour: two, even kinsmen, differ in their bounty.

Rig Veda 10.117

Helping the indigent

Bhishma said, "Whatever wishes one entertains with respect to oneself, one should certainly cherish with respect to another. With the surplus wealth one may happen to own one should relieve the wants of the indigent. It is for this reason that the Creator ordained the practice of increasing one's wealth (by trade or laying it out at interest)."

Mahabharata, Santi Parva, Section CCLIX

All spiritual practices are in vain if you close your eyes to suffering of others.

I abide in all beings as their inner-most soul. Disregarding My presence within them, men make a show of worshiping Me through images. If one disregards Me present in all as their soul and Lord but ignorantly offers worship only to images, such worship is as ineffective as a sacrificial offering made in ashes. A man who persecutes Me residing in others, who is proud and haughty, who looks upon God as the other – such a person will never attain to peace of mind. If a man disregards and persecutes fellow beings, but worships Me in images with numerous rituals and rich offerings, I am not at all pleased with him for proffering such worship. A man should, however, worship Me in images, side by side with discharging his duties, which include the love of all beings, until he actually realises My presence in in himself and in all beings. As long as man is self-centred and makes an absolute distinction between himself and others (without recognising the unity of all in Me, the Inner Pervader), he will be subject to the great fear of Death (including every form of deprivation of self-interest). So overcoming the separateness of a self-centred life, one should serve all beings with gifts, honour and love, recognising that such service is really being rendered to Me who reside in all beings as their innermost soul.

Srimad Bhagavata Purana III.29.21-27

Answer 2

The answer is given in Yoga Sutras

क्लेशमूलः कर्माशयो दृष्टादृष्टजन्मवेदनीयः ॥१२॥

A man's latent tendencies have been created by his past thoughts and actions. These tendencies will bear fruits, both in this life and in lives to come.

A man who is facing problems in his life is because of his past life karmas. So if you are feeling bad for not being able to help someone, you shouldn't because it was not in his prarabdha to receive help from someone.