DONATION

[Guest guest]

Dear Ernst

 

you

<< nice post, glad to hear that you work on a donation basis. I worked on a

donatation basis for my first five years and always made a living somehow. >>

 

me

Thank you. Krishna always make the arrangements for us to learn. We may not

understand in the beginning about His plans but His plans always work fine.

 

you

<<Then I went into a six month period when people were literally taking

advantage of me, asking questions about all their known relatives, etc, really

difficult stuff and then paying me $20 and that was with some health remedies

that I sent them.>>

 

me

I am lucky in a way, because i do not have much problems with that, although

most of my customers are poor or they do not know how to appreciate the

astrological readings, nevertheless, they have been keeping me alive.

 

Occasionally, i have got the odd customer, like the one that gave me as a

donation, an open box of tea bags 3/4 full and i do not drink tea, he was

feeding a huge dog and i calculate that his dog was eating more than me. Or

the one that promised me to give me something next Friday after her wages

arrived and i am still waiting for her for the past 2 years.

 

Others have been very generous, enough to keep me going for months, perhaps

because my standard of living is very austere when compared with other people,

because i do not have a car (i am used to public transport), pay a mortgage, or

have an expensive social life.

 

I pay for my bills to keep me comfortable and in touch with what is going on

like Tel, tv and internet, but in general my budget is small.

 

you

<< So I racked up my credit cards until they were full to get through with a my

indian wife without a greencard and my infant. Then I realized that a person

can charge or take donations due to either healthy or unhealty reasons, and

that we have to stay fleixible cause we never know what we need to learn.>>

 

me

You are a grihastra (a householder), and your duty is to maintain a family and

this implies to charge money in order to pay you bills and to survive. In

vedic times a real king educated under vedic instructions would protect and

maintain teachers, musicians and astrologers so that they did not need to worry

about making a living. Regarding gurus, they used to be maintained with

donations received by either the king or his/her own disciples/students.

However, in our present society, most of the leaders are just exploiting and

harassing their citizens with excessive taxes. It is estimated that a 50% of

the taxes are used to cheat, misinform, mislead, harass or control innocent

citizens. And people in general do not know how to appreciate things or give a

proper donation for a service.

 

In a way i am lucky that my first wife left me long ago and that my children are

now adults and have a good income.

 

According to the vedas, we should pay for the right price of goods or services,

otherwise we will take the karma of the exploited person.

 

There are some people advertising excessive fees for their goods or services and

that can be caused by greed. In time, they will get their karma back.

 

Any astrologer has to make his/her own living in our days. Some people are so

conditioned by the media and education that they are misled to think that the

goodness of their product or service is indicated by the high price that they

have to pay for it.

 

We have the good example given by Swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, he never ever

charged for his mantras or vedic education, and his books can be purchased with

donations or at a very low price, however, the goodness coming out of that dont

has a material price. But he was empowered by the Lord.

 

For us conditioned souls, we have to struggle in this material world and make a

living according to the times and circumstances. Eventually, with our faith and

sincerity the Lord may drive our destiny.

Best wishes

Natabara Das