To help or not

Why do we help other people ? Why help anyone at all. The term has largely been reduced to giving miniscule amount of alms to the poor , weak and hungry which gives us a sense of satisfaction and empowerment to be able to change other people lives. And no, I would not ask you to donate whole heartedly. Donation is not help.  And in ancient times there were certain requirements and conditions for a person to be a donor or receiver. Also was prevalent the practice of Aparigraha in Niyama. Not any more. people love to accumulate and quench their unethical guilt in the form of some donation or other. Samaydaan , vidyadaan , shramadaan are things of the past. I am not being pessimistic here. Just suggesting some options. But above all why help at all. Why not keep working for own enjoyment or salvation than help anyone.
The vedantist helps because he understands that unless a man's stomach is full , he can't think of higher things. We were made that way . And for him it is a religious ceremony as if he were paying respect to the One himself. Who is he to help anyone and how could he ? He helps because he las lost his individuality and gained an identification among every other living soul and he sees himself in each of them. It is as if he is helping a divine part of himself. Feed them first and them help them so that they become able to help themselves. 

To be or not to be

The question here is that is salvation only meant for the yogi, is everybody supposed to leave his job and become a yogi then ?
This is not the case. Your job/nature of work does not decide your fate, your attachment to it does !!! Actually , as discussed in Shivoham, there is no work which doesn't have both good and bad effects and you can either own the responsibility for both or neither.  Alternatively keep doing the work without attachment and care not for the results. Why work at all then ? Coz you must lay an example for those who will follow you but have not reached the same degree of religious understanding.  Even the creator works incessantly if you believe in One that is. Don't get attached to the work though , don't care for the results. Work for work's sake and you are in the footsteps of the yogi with the only difference being that he is walking faster than you towards that One realisation which we all crave whether or not we are aware of it.

Religion

Religion. Why is it necessary and what are the parameters if any applicable.  The vedantist define it as a process of realisation of inner self. Temples , churches and mosques are the kindergarten of religion. They help a man to start thinking in this direction.  But he is not limited by it. He is to take it forward till the day he identifies all beings as himself.  Rituals and customs are the little baby steps that may help to keep the mind focused initially but may have to done away with in the road forward as the thinking starts expanding and I don't mean the intellect. Intellect can only take u as far as the senses perceive which is nothing compared to what they can't.  For the beyond you need religion not in the sense that it is meant nowadays but in a way that can help every individual identify the divinity within.
How do you identify you are becoming religious ? When you can't help being cheerful all the time , when you find you have nothing more to ask in your prayers , when you are not fascinated by all the materialism around , when the never-ending fascination of this material body is gone and when the ever-present fear of dying one day is gone. That day, my friend, you are becoming religious.