You are born to be the giver

The times we live in invite two general comments. The first of which lies in the fact that the five elements are in disarray (earth, fire, air, water and ether). Witness the havoc the recent storm caused in the United States, the rains in Mumbai and the cyclonic depression in South India. The second lies in the fact that conscious consumers who wish to give back to the earth what she gives to us so munificently and abundantly are taking care to ensure that they promote a more sustainable livelihood and lifestyle.

This is a positive development and is likely to grow in the future. It is in the nature of evolution that crisis creates a consciousness that seeks to address it. Switching over to a minimal lifestyle in food, clothing, habitat and lifestyle is a demonstrable consequence of this phenomenon.

We are witness to man-made disasters in recent years including tsunamis, floods, earthquakes and cyclones. A growing section of urban consumers are beginning to ask questions and make changes that promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle less dependent on pleasing the outer senses but focusing on awakening the inner senses.

The land that gave birth to Gandhi had all but forgotten Gandhi in the first fifty-odd years of independence. The Mahatma promoted simple living and high thinking. Many of his ideas were received with scepticism bordering on derision but as we become increasingly conscious of a world where resources are not replenishable, Gandhian ideas are suddenly making a lot of sense.

In the wise words of Swami Vivekananda: "Those that want to help mankind must take their own pleasure and pain, name and fame, and all sorts of interests, and make a bundle of them and throw them into the sea, and then come to the Lord. This is what all the Masters said and did".

"In this world always take the position of the giver. Give everything and look for no returns. Give love, give help, give service, and give any little thing you can, but keep out the barter. Make no conditions and none will be imposed. Let us give out of our own bounty, just as God gives to us. The Lord is the only Giver, all the world are only shopkeepers. Get His cheque and it must be honored everywhere".