Tithe is Karma Yoga in action

[Guest guest]

Pranaam Advaitins:

 

I maintain a public discussion forum on the Bhagawad Geeta, where I made

this post. I am submitting an essay I posted there, for consideration in

this forum.

 

Clay feet of the Giant and what we can do about it

 

Sometime ago, the Wall Street Journal carried an article on the economic

mechanism of poverty alleviation. The author, an economist pointed out that

India and China together have more people living below the poverty line than

the continent of Africa. He used per capita income distribution as the

basis for his statistics. The argument proposed in this article was that

despite the infusion of much more government aid into Africa over the past

three decades, than into China and India, the proportion of people living in

those circumstances had decreased in China and India while it held steady in

Africa. So, the thesis was that economic growth opportunity and

transparency that reduces the risk of corruption played a far greater role

in poverty reduction than the type of aid that Tony Blair was calling for.

 

Recently in conversations with relatives who are retired and living in

Mumbai, I learnt how despite having so much hired help in the house for

various tasks; they ended up having to do much of it, themselves. I

enquired and found that this was the result of the recent floods in Mumbai.

Most of the help came from people whose dwellings and surroundings were

affected much more so than those of the middle class. As a result they

faced family health issues, which caused them to skip work more often. I

also learnt how some people who are middle class, took a day off to join a

community effort to clean the underground water tanks of their “society” as

they call it, despite being able to afford such help, because they would not

entrust that job to hired help. They trusted their sense of hygiene much

more so than that of the hired help available. This happened during the

recent flooding.

 

Having worked as a researcher, I have a penchant for analyzing and

extrapolating. Now, given the nature of microorganisms, I wondered how

insulated could people live in a society from those around them. Consider

how the immune system works. It works wonders, which is the only way you

can explain how people manage to live and work and contribute in India,

despite the sheer lack of elementary public hygiene. It is a good thing to

bear a positive outlook and have great dreams. For one thing, it certainly

bolsters your immune system. Some day biochemists will work out the

mechanism that links the mind and the immune system, and I would not be

surprised if they prescribe cognitive therapy to fight infectious diseases.

One of the side effects of a study of the Bhagawad Geeta or any spiritual

study that is positive, in my opinion is this contribution to well being.

It is more selfish in outcome than altruistic. In this country, too, I hope

politics leads to true compassion finding expression in public policy.

Most people think of public policy as spend your tax dollars. They seem to

forget that perhaps an economic analysis of the intangible benefits might

show that the government might in some cases be a more just and efficient

way of public spending than community efforts. Again, I must admit it is

the secularist in me that doubts the ability of religious organizations to

be just. I could very well be wrong.

 

The point of this piece though is something else. If you look into recent

history you might have seen the term “paper tiger”, used to describe what

was once seen as an economic miracle. I am not trying to be negative but I

feel compelled to describe the emerging economies of India and China as the

emerging Giants with clay feet. The reason for this is the point that was

made in the WSJ article. While the economist was citing the size of the

population, the average age of the population and how that was perhaps the

fuel for economic growth, I wondered how much of this was perhaps the result

of the long-term effect of the much-derided socialist policies of the past.

I certainly consider the efforts of the communists in the Indian government

to be damaging to the interests of the poor they claim to represent. Again

this shows my bias for the Fabian socialist ideals that inspired Nehru and

Russell.

 

It is not just the Asian economies that have clay feet, but the American

economy does too. The New Orleans saga exposed that. But I feel there is

something that each one of us can do. It is good to spend time working on

improving your own economic situation, but there is some benefit in locating

and identifying organizations that make a difference in the lives of people

in the community. And send them a contribution. Another way to help is to

consider donating blood or platelets. The local Red Cross chapter can help

with that.

 

To Tithe is perhaps the Christian expression of Karma Yoga in action, which

Hindus could adopt. That could be the balm for the clay feet of the Giant

or is it perhaps the One who guides the destiny of India, which is referred

to in the national anthem of India, “jana gana mana”.

 

Elsewhere in this forum I proposed that Hindus adopt the Jewish approach to

studying scripture, free of Varna and now I am proposing that Hindus adopt

tithing as Christians do. You could discern the influence of people like

Houston Smith, also featured in this forum in another posting, made

recently. Of course, if you are a Hindu American, the One who guides the

destiny of India is also the One who guides the destiny of America, needs no

stating.