Once upon a time there was a rich man who lived near Chandigarh. He owned a big mango plantation and every year when the fruit was ready for harvesting he needed a lot of people to pick the mangos.
He offered a very low rate for the work and the only people that took the job were migrants from states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, living in the jhuggi colonies on the verges of Chandigarh.
By paying low wages and exploiting poor people he made big profits, and was able to buy very expensive cars and a huge house with a big garden. He was a Sikh and he knew about the teaching of Guru Nanak, but he did not realise that there was blood in his roti.
Once upon a time there was a man who ran a ‘sweatshop’ in Southall, where people stitched clothes. As he liked to maximise his profits he only employed a few people officially, paying tax and national insurance. His other workers were illegals who worked long hours for very low pay.
By paying low wages and exploiting poor people he made big profits, and was able to buy very expensive cars and a huge house with a big garden. He was a Sikh and he knew about the teaching of Guru Nanak, but he did not realise that there was blood in his roti.
I have made up these stories, but they are based on what I have seen around me, both in India and in Europe. The behaviour of the rich men in the stories is against the teachings of all ‘dharms’, all faiths.
People of all dharms, of all religions ignore these teachings, they forget that these also apply to life in 2010, that these are teachings for all times.
Whether it is Jesus’ Good Samaritan or Guru Nanak’s Bhai Lalo, they both show us the way to the sort of behaviour that will start us off on our journey to Sach Khand, the Realm of Truth, where we will find unity with God.
Respect all, pay a fair wage and if you want others to work hard for you, you should work hard too. Simple principles based on universal values. The world would become a much better place if more people would understand that these are practical teachings, not theoretical philosophy.
Some UK politicians say that we have a broken society. We can only mend that society by seeing God in all. Some people make fabulous profits on the stock and commodity exchanges, some families have been unemployed for generations, or are exploited doing degrading work for very low wages. The philosophy of ‘More, More, More’ and ‘Me, Me, Me’ breaks our link with The One All Pervading and All Powerful and breaks our link with All Creation.
