Living in Poverty is not God’s Will

Every Hindu song of devotion (bhajan) has a composer/s and every composer has a theology, a specific understanding of the nature of God and the meaning of the religious life that he/she wants to communicate. It is important that we be attentive to the meaning and implications of the theology communicated in these songs. Sometimes, the message is deeply problematic. Let me give an example.

One of the bhajans commonly sung in Hindu Mandirs is: Sitaram Sitaram Sitaram kahiye/ Jahi vidhi rakhe Ram/ tahi vidhi rahiye. The heart of the song’s message is the need to be contented in all circumstances, since these are ordained by God.

Verse 5 of the song is as follows:

Zindagi ki dora saunpa/ hatha dina natha ke

Surrender your life into God’s hands

Mahalo me rakhe chahe/ jhopri me vasa de

Whether he places you in a palace or hut

Dhanyavad nirvivad rama rama kahiye, jahi vidhi

Chant His name in gratitude without questions

The problem in a song like this, and so many others, is the apathy and indifference that may be induced. The theological message is that dissatisfaction with social or economic realities is sign of lack of devotion and trust in God. A devotee, in other words, never questions (nirvivad) the social order and always accepts it as God’s will.

The dangers of this theology should be obvious. It legitimizes a particular economic order of society by representing it as divinely ordained and thus beyond questioning. We know well, however, the relationship between poverty and the lack of access to education, health care and livable wages. Because of inequitable access to resources, millions are trapped in cycles of poverty that extend often to generations. The first step in in changing any unjust social order is questioning its assumptions and underlying causes. Claiming that it is divinely ordained does not encourage such interrogation and preserves the status quo. Living in poverty, and in unjust conditions should never be legitimized by appeal to divine will and accepted as inevitable.

We should not hesitate to question such teaching whether handed down by religious teachers or transmitted in the verses of popular bhajans.

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