Excerpt

Since our lives are indeed blessed by the dedicated activities of so many, Krishna suggests that we express our obligation by dedicating our gifts and abilities for the wellbeing of the world. If we all selfishly receive from the world without giving anything back, then the resources of the world, both human and natural, will soon be depleted. In some of the strongest language of the Bhagavadgita (3:12) Krishna describes the person who enjoys the gifts of other human beings and nature without giving anything in return as a thief. We usually think of a thief as someone who wrongfully appropriates the property of another. Krishna, however, is challenging us to extend our understanding of what it means to steal. In his view, a thief is someone who receives more from the world than he gives, a person who thinks only of getting and not giving. If we all behave in this manner, there is little hope of prosperity for all and the entire creation suffers.

A recent analysis, that I read, used the concept of ecological footprints to help us understand how much we use from nature and how much we actually need. Nature is analyzed in terms of acres of the earths land and water needed to grow food, absorb greenhouse gases, construct homes and build roads. It is the portion of earth that sustains us. If we take the number of productive acres and divide this by the worlds population, we get an idea of what is available for our needs. By this calculation, each person on our planet would get a footprint of 4.5 acres. At the present time, however, the average American footprint is estimated to be 23.5 acres, which is more that five times the worlds average. If everyone in the world had a footprint as large as that of the average USA citizen, we would need more than five planets to support the people of our world. The average footprint for a person in India is 2 acres and in Bangladesh it is 1 acre. Are we taking more from nature than it is capable of giving? What are the effects of our patterns of consumption on the rest of the world? These are questions that Krishna urges us to ask and consider.

The alternative, taught by Krishna in the Bhagavadgita, is living in the spirit of worship (yajna), characterized by giving and receiving. A person who practices this way of life is always attentive to the need of giving back to the world in gratitude for all that he receives and constantly looking for opportunities to do so. Where people act in the spirit of worship, the community prospers and thrives. The yajna way of life, according to the Bhagavadgita (3:10) is the method offered by the creator of the world for human prosperity and success.

Having created humankind in the beginning together with worship, God said, By this may you prosper; this will be the milch cow of your desire.

In this verse, Sri Krishna refers to the way of giving and receiving as the secret of human prosperity and likens it to a mythological cow belonging to an ancient teacher named, Vashishta. The cow is represented as having a womans head, a cows body, a birds wing and is believed to grant all the wishes of the one who owns it. Our cow of plenty, however, is our ability to live, not only for ourselves, but for others and to give as much or more than we receive. Our prosperity and wellbeing is linked up with the prosperity and wellbeing of all other beings.

There is a wonderful ancient Hindu story that illustrates this truth. It is said that the creator of the universe once invited the devas (divine beings) and asuras (demonic beings) to a grand dinner. The devas occupied one side of the banquet hall and the asuras occupied the other side. They sat in rows on the floor facing each other. Foods of every imaginable kind were laid out in beautiful dishes before each guest and everyone was anxious to begin the feast. The creator stood up, thanked everyone for coming, invited all to enjoy the meal and laid down one condition for eating. No elbows must be bent!! The asuras were enraged and started hurling abuses at the creator. They accused the creator of inviting them only to humiliate and make fools of them. They stood up in a group and walked out of the banquet hall. The devas, on the other hand, quickly found a way to enjoy the lavish feast without bending their elbows. Seated in rows facing each other, they simply stretched their hands out and fed one another!