Street Analysis

I am.

Above phrase also means “I just am” or “I exist” in a language of Consciousness.

To expand it further, I am so and so…I am a writer, I am a professional, I am a father, I am a husband, I am a brother, I am a son, etc.

These are the days of “festival of lights” known as Diwali as per Hindu lunar calendar reflecting light over darkness and signifying the triumph of goodness over evil. It is also celebrated by other religions such as Jain, Sikh and some Buddhists.

What this light does is help us drop all such identifications described above, which are in sheer abundance for all of us being the binding factor for all of us. Objective or rather destination is easy to identify as to where we need to head in our lives. What is more difficult is the journey to get to that light.

Warren Buffett, one of the richest persons on earth, saw such light back in 2006 and announced to give away 99% of his wealth during his lifetime and at his death. A few years hence, his close friends, Bill & Melinda Gates formalized the concept with the encouragement from Warren Buffett, announced the “The Giving Pledge” initiative in 2010 and pledged to give away bulk of their wealth as well. It is a pledge, not the commitment, though a fantastic start and holds so much promise, especially in light of a current political environment all over the world.

Here is the link to the pledge letter by Warren Buffett.

Since the initiative was launched, it has inspired more than 250 of the world’s wealthiest philanthropists from 30 different countries to pledge their wealth as well and it continues to gain more and more traction each year. One of the best examples, MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder, has already given away $19 billion of her wealth in a short few years. Another beautiful example is Chuck Feeney, the founder of Duty Free Shoppers Group, who gave away ALL of his wealth, over $8 billion, while he was living.

Why do they do it? That is a much bigger and lot deeper question that we can only wish more people, especially the wealthy types, would understand or probe into. Most everyone understands the value of charity or ‘giving back’ in some fashion. The short answer is “gratitude” for what they have and who it is truly owed to, not just their own hard work, rather, it is owed to the entire society at large aside from their great fortune.

Unfortunate reality or contrast is that there is an equal amount of dark or even evil forces out there on this beautiful earth, especially concentrated in the world of rich and powerful. To counter that, we need much more benevolent forces out there so that the mankind as a whole continues to progress not only on the front of material comforts, though also to evolve for the upliftment of each and every individual in this world and raise the level of collective consciousness.

Ordinary person like you or I also have an immense amount of power and can do a lot – any tiny bit or portion – to leave the world a better place than what we inherited – in and around us. A good example of this is “Giving What We Can” that enables one to pledge 10% of their income. Over 10,000 people worldwide have signed up for the 10% of income pledge that has already donated $321 million to various charities. Money is only one way to contribute whereas the other powerful resource is giving time and at minimum, putting a smile on someone else’s face.

The world is full of income and asset inequalities, let alone poverty and miseries induced by mankind generated evil forces such as from powerful ethos to unnecessary wars. This giving pledge is just one tiny little effort that tries to make a difference.

As mentioned in the beginning of the note, the objective is to get to “I am” or in other words “just be”, not “just become” and drop all the identifications. “We are the problem” as Bill Gates also learned from his father as mentioned in his pledge letter. So, let us strive to remove – “We” – and more accurately “I” during, not only this reflective time period of “festival of lights” known as Diwali, though, rather throughout the year. Heaven is right here on this earth.