As December and the festive season approaches, some people in Goa will soon start to sing their favorite song: It is the Time for Giving to the Poor!
My guru says there is nothing wrong in it so long as we are aware of how giving can easily inflate our egos beyond the size of a dance floor and make us feel superior to the person who has been given something. But it is not always the case, observes my guru. It can become a deep spiritual experience if we give from the heart - expecting nothing in return - with the timely remembrance of how the giver should be most grateful to the person who receives what is given to him. Not easy, right? The giver has to feel deeply how much s/he is indebted to the receiver; and the joy the receiver has given to the giver by allowing him or her the privilege of giving! Without the importance given to the receiver there is no joy, only ego satisfaction and social recognition. It is easier for an atheist to give, says my guru, as he does not believe in God, in afterlife, heaven or hell and so has no expectation of any reward for his good actions. Giving, he says, is more often than not a business transaction, sometimes to further our image as respectable people with a golden heart or even worse: trying to bribe God or our way into heaven. Strangely enough, a lot of organized religions encourage their followers to give for this reason. Social service, charity, and giving are often a misnomer for bribery; sometimes we bribe people, and sometimes Gods. Empowering people so they can become self-reliant and productive is the way to go. If we do so, these people will not get caught in anyone's net, including our own, religious or secular, says my guru. A lot of politicians are proud of having given but it is an investment. There is, I guess, giving and there is politicized giving which is a whole different kettle of fish - as in, with or without formalin. Politicians are not simple givers but political givers, investors in political careers with an eye to the future. Now, a great number have climbed up the political ladder through giving and social service, some to the top of the dunghill. Future and young aspiring politicians note their success and emulate them. What our democracy needs are honest, intelligent, educated and capable people and not investors, says my guru, who expect a hundredfold in return. And, honest voters, too! Maybe - to hope is to dream - since it will unlikely come true in my lifetime. In a lot of so-called materialistic countries bribery during elections is nil. Why do we do it with our belief in one God or a thousand? Take the money is the advice of some savvy voters; and then, don't vote for the bribe giver. If everyone is giving bribes obviously there is a problem, isn't there? It appears to me to be a situation similar to a child in a candy store. The advisors say there is no problem at all as it is possible to take from the biggest briber, and vote for somebody else! But can we get away with it, in more than one meaning? Jesus says, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. The Dalai Lama says if you want peace of mind do good actions, not bad. Daruma, the great Indian Zen master who went to China says reward is virtue and suffering is sin. Want to be happy, and have peace of mind? Then do what is right! And, peace of mind naturally will be yours. Belief or disbelief in God is immaterial. He says the reward is intrinsic, nothing beyond the act. Don't expect to have peace of mind otherwise. We need to fill our hearts full of joy, the way we fill our cars and scooters full of fuel.
