A relative choice
I am not interested
in your wealth, dear
relative, I am interested
in you.
What you do with your
hard-earned money
is your choice, your
own point of view.
Relative! Didn’t you hear
the news? That there was
this renowned ghazal singer
who willed his fortune among
the most trusted men, women,
and children he knew?
His watchman, milk-woman,
newspaper boy, his faithful
servant, and his iron man,
(Ha! Ha!), the one who pressed
his dhoti and shirt anew.
These were the persons who
took care of him, and so he
exercised his due.
By not making his relatives
his beneficiary, he made none
of them a culprit.
So, dear relative, before you
leave the dais, take the cue,
rid yourself from fear and
doubt, breathe easy, be out
of your opulent guilt.
I am not interested in your
wealth, dear relative, I am
interested in you.
Note: This is a challenge we face mainly in our country. There are these relatives who don’t know what to do with their wealth. Therefore, they live in perpetual suspicion and abject fear. I sincerely feel for them and want to help them realize that they have every right to do what they feel with their wealth.
dais what does it mean?
Dais, a stage which here means before you die.
Much wisdom, in a pleasing poem; the burden of wealth is timeless. I would also think that the mores of South Asian societies are more akin to what was common here in the nineteenth century – via Jane Austin as such.
Another Gem!
Dougie
BTW, are you familiar with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj – his work – ‘I am That’ ?
Thank you. No, I am not, it goes into my reading list. I have been submerged in the works of Yogananda, Lahiri Mahasay, Swami Vivekananda, and Ramakrishna (Vivekananda’s guru). Also, ever since I got rid of addiction, I have also spent hours on the techniques of meditation I learned from the BKs and especially from Sadhguru. Now my goal in life is to attain enlightenment and heal the world. But first, I have to experience enlightenment and heal myself. It really feels good to share. Thank you for asking.
I have visited India and Pakistan twice, but now many years ago; and it was one of the
formative experiences in my life. I came upon ‘I am That’ while there – an Indian printing – so not sure if its available here. The guru impressed me; he lived his life (I recall) in a vey average way – running a shop; and he was enlightened.
Can’t wait to read the book that’s on the way. You see, this is how we grow, by collectively knowing how to learn together.
Supratik
Wise words. In my searching I went to various ‘gurus’, some only in print; and I found that not all were what they professed to be. The sad truth, is that discernment is often learnt the hard way. But we must be pilgrims.
Absolutely! That is the sad part. We need to be in divine hands to be lucky. At times, it is preferable to self learn, read, or listen to various gurus before you shortlist some. Sounds like an HR trying to recruit their workforce, but I guess it’s necessary.