The moment we say charity, we are reminded of groups like Rotary Club, Lions Club, and other such institutions involved in serving the poor and the needy. Yet we never think of doing charity for rich people, the idea seems preposterous. The very fact that charity is associated with poverty puts a question mark on it. It means that charity presupposes poverty. Charity is derived from the Latin word caritas. Webster’s Dictionary tells us that originally, in Latin, the word caritas meant preciousness, dearness, high price. From this, via Christian theology, it was changed to mean an unconditional love for others, later to be reduced to “generous actions or donations to aid the poor, ill or the helpless”.
Just think for a moment, if there were no poor, ill or helpless people in the world, what would happen to your charity? Charity is a moralistic stance taken by rich people to rid themselves of feelings of guilt harboured because they know they have exploited the poor to amass their wealth. Once Osho was asked: “In your vision, is charity a part of religiousness? If so, what would constitute charity?” In line with Catholic concepts, the Indian legislature spells out — 1) relief for the poor, 2) education, and 3) medical relief — as being charity. What is the concept of charity in the eyes of the Buddha?
Osho answered: “The Catholic idea is relief for the poor. The idea of the Buddha will be: there is no need for any poverty in the world. Poverty is man-created, and it is in our hands to destroy poverty. But all the religions have emphasised relief for the poor. But relief for the poor is not charity, it is not love.” Why, in the first place, should poverty exist? It exists as there are a few people who are greedy. A small section of society goes on accumulating, while the greater proportion of society remains poor. And man has lived for centuries under such unbalanced odds. This exploitation can be completely stopped by changing of the perspective. Poverty is a by-product of greed.
First, eradicate the greed of the rich. Second, change the definition of charity. Poverty has many levels. The rich are spiritually poor, they are “needy, ill, or helpless” at a deeper level. Their behaviour is pathological. They need meditative therapies that will cleanse their minds. While commenting on India recently, Bill Gates said that the poor don’t know who is responsible for their plight, they are as if hypnotised into believing that it is their fate. The real service would be to educate the poor and empower them to see the reality, and at the other end of the scale awaken the handful of rich people to a broader, more human context.
