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Wednesday 17th October 2001
Pause for Thought -
Fighting over another's property
Krishna
Dharma
I did the Pause for Thought yesterday, meeting Terry Wogan in the
process, and addressing his 7 million plus faithful listeners. He was
very nice (trained as a Jesuit priest, apparently), introducing me as
a Hindu theologian (ahem), writer and President of the Manchester Hare
Krishna Centre. After a little bit of banter, I delivered the following
brief piece:
"I've been thinking about the Israel Palestine dispute, Terry. For as
long as I can remember hardly a week has gone by when it has not been
high on the news agenda. But it is certainly nothing new. The plot of
the ancient Indian classic, Mahabharata, revolves around a dispute over
territory that culminates in a great war. After that war though, one of
the army generals is reflecting. Six million warriors had died, and he
is asking himself, 'Why? Why must men fight over such things, exactly
like two dogs fighting over a piece of meat? The land was here before
us, and it will be here long after we have gone."
Actually, no man can claim proprietorship over any territory in this
world. It belongs only to God. We have no power to create land, or indeed
anything. 'Naked came I to the world, and naked shall I depart.' We are
just temporary custodians of the Lord's property.
I thought of this the other day, when I was doing one of my weekly family
chores, the shopping. As I stood in the hypermarket, pondering the comparative
merits of eight brands of ketchup, I was reminded of something my spiritual
master taught me. He said we should see this world in the same way we
see the goods in a shop. In a supermarket we know that everything belongs
to someone else, that we must take only those things we need and can afford.
In the same way, we should see that everything in this world belongs to
God, and we should take only what we need. We can't just grab whatever
we want. There is a price to pay.
The world's resources, if properly managed, can provide for everyone,
probably ten times over. As Gandhi said, 'There is enough for everyone's
need, but not for everyone's greed.'
But although there is an abundance in the world, we mostly encounter
the scarcity mentality - "If I don't grab it, someone else will, and I
will go without." But in God's world no one should go without. God is
not a poor man. He can take care of everyone.
And it is this abundance mentality that leads to peace. I know I don't
have to worry, the Lord will care for me, just as he is caring for every
creature on earth. My business is not scrabbling for resources, but recognising
my position as the Lord's steward. We have dominion in this world, but
we should always remember that this God-given power carries a grave responsibility." |
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