Poverty and Corruption

The disciples returned after their 'field experience' in the village near the Ashram. This was the new batch. Some of them were from the city and one of them was an American. They had not seen or experienced the plight of the rural poor in India. Anita, a young female disciple in her twenties was very upset. “What is the matter?” asked the guru with concern. “Why did God create poverty and corruption?” asked the young lady who was very much upset by what she saw in the village. "God did not create poverty and corruption, Anita. We did. As Mahatma Gandhi had pointed out, there is enough to meet every one's needs, but there is not enough to meet even one man's greed. "Greed and selfishness of people are the root causes of poverty and corruption in the world. When the strong and privileged appropriate a major portion of the resources of the world for themselves with no care or concern for others or for the mother earth, there will be violent reactions. Exploitation, injustice, corruption and poverty will flourish in such societies Terrorism, violence and bloodshed will be inevitable. "And, most of the natural calamities also are caused by man's indiscriminate destruction of nature. Mother earth retaliates when she cannot suffer the pain of human cruelty any more" explained the guru.