Charity

 

 

All the religions have been serving the poor for thousands of years, and poverty goes on growing. Is this authentic service? Then in thousands of years poverty should have disappeared. In fact, you are feeding poverty.

 

Real service will be that the poor should be told that “You are being exploited, and you have to revolt against the vested interests.” Unless the poor understand that their poverty is caused by a few people who are exploiting them, sucking their blood ... It is not caused by your past lives and bad acts, it is caused by the social system which depends on exploitation.

 

The religions have to be made aware of the fact that they have been doing this service for centuries. What is the result? – because a tree is known by the fruit; if the fruit is rotten, the tree is not worth much. Service seems to be a beautiful word to hide an exploiting social structure. It appears so good – serving the poor – it seems a great virtue.

 

But why are the poor there in the first place? Who has made them poor?

 

On the one hand you go on serving the poor and converting them into Catholics. The service is not in the service of the poor, the service is to increase the power of the Catholic Church. You go on finding orphans and converting them. How have Catholics increased to six hundred million? – by serving the poor. The service is motivated.

 

If you are really interested in destroying poverty you will look into the roots. You treat only symptoms. Giving food to the poor, or clothes to the poor ... how is it going to help? It will only keep them at survival level, and it will allow the vested interests to continue exploiting them. You see the vicious circle?

 

The capitalists go on donating to the church. The church goes on helping the poor at least to live, because laborers and slaves are needed. Even slaves were fed by their masters. That was not service. If you don’t feed your horse, if you don’t feed your cow, you will lose much money. If you don’t feed the poor, the capitalist will disappear. Who is going to work for him? Whom is he going to exploit?

 

So it is a very cunning game. The rich man goes on donating a small portion of his exploitation to the church. The church goes on bringing up the orphans, aboriginals, poor people, to the survival level. They are needed alive, because without them the whole system will collapse.

 

So on the one hand, the capitalist goes on giving money in charity; on the other hand, he goes on exploiting the poor. And between the two, the priest has his own percentage – he is a mediator – so he is living beautifully. Millions of missionaries are there around the world, but they are serving the exploiters in the name of service.

 

I don't want to be in this vicious game.

I want poverty to be completely removed.

There should be no person who needs service.

A society that needs service is sick.

But its prejudice about service has prevented it from hearing me.

 

-Osho, “Christianity: The Deadliest Poison and Zen: The Antidote to All Poisons, #2, Q1“