Symbiosis: An invisible philanthropy

 

Symbiosis: An invisible philanthropy 

I came across a small clip from a TED talk where the speaker was discussing how formal college education is not essential for everyone yet our society pushes for it. He told the story of a young man he met at a bookstore. The man was in his mid thirties and identified himself as a fireman. How long have you been doing that? All my life, was the reply. He had always wanted to be a firefighter. When he was in high school a teacher had dressed him down in front of the whole class and tried to “put sense” in him that becoming a firefighter would not take him anywhere. Despite the brainwashing, the guy joined the fire department right after completing high school. A few years later he responded to an emergency. It was a car crash. He saved the lives of that teacher and his wife by rescuing them from the wreckage and fire. Since then the teacher looks at me with more respect, he chuckled.

I remember a story I had heard several years back about a learned philosopher crossing a big river in a boat. He asked the boatman how far he had studied, did he know to read annd write and did he know about spiritual enlightenment. The boatman pleaded ignorance and admitted to being illiterate. The scholar shook his head in disgust and said “ you have no hope of being rescued from this life.” Within moments the weather took an ugly turn. They were caught in a terrifying storm mid waters. The boat was tossed dangerously by the gusty winds. The boatman asked the scholar, do you know how to swim? The scholar admitted he couldn’t swim. The boatman looked sad and whispered: I don’t think you can be saved. 

Both these stories highlight the fact that while literacy is a good thing, it is not everything. No matter how intelligent, learned or wise you are, you are part of a large ecosystem. You benefit from the contributions of the smallest members of the system. Majority of the contributors are pitching in silently. Your life is enriched in a million ways by these silent workers and your “knowledge”, which you take so much pride in, makes you lose sight of what sustains your life. From the bacteria in your gut to the earthworms in the soil around your home, from the guy who picks your trash daily to the construction worker who poured the mortar into your home, from the back office clerk who calculates and sends your paycheck to the tow truck who comes to fix your flat tire in the middle of nowhere, every single being counts in your life. If they did something other than the work they are doing, you wouldn’t do the work you are doing. 

I was reflecting on the authors whose writings have helped a shift in my consciousness. From Ved Vyasa to Dnyaneshwar, from Eknath to Tukaram to Samarth Ramdas, from Gurudev Ranade to Parbhanikar Maharaj, from Bha Ra Tambe to Borkar to Ga Di Madgulkar, had they not left behind their thoughts and interpretations of deeper truths, my life would not be shaped the way it is now. Each one’s words and works are silent acts of philanthropy. The beneficiaries come and go, one generation after another. Some give back, some don’t. But the benefactors don’t wait for the returns.

When we become aware of the symbiosis that goes on within and around us, everything we do becomes less boisterous. Respect and gratitude grows and blossoms naturally into our interactions. We just become a small link within an infinite chain of philanthropy. So small, that to even acknowledge our contribution deprives us of the feeling of fulfillment. What the Bhagwad Gita did not explicitly mention when teaching about karma yoga is that along with doing your assigned duties without expectation of rewards, staying aware of the contributions of others around you is a way of aligning with the universe or the divine whole. To acknowledge the work of others and to silently keep doing what we do is what levels our field of consciousness. It is the key to achieving the ultimate fulfillment and finding ourselves as the whole that we are.