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03/19/2008

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Last week’s Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company. Being a fan of Apple’s innovative products for some time, I read the article with pride. The article was very interesting and talked a great deal about Steve Jobs and his struggles to get where he is today. However, there was one thing I learned from the article that disappointed me, and that was the fact that Apple is one of the least philanthropic companies in the world. On the other hand, Bill Gates’ company Microsoft may have been 16th on this list, but they are considered one of the most philanthropic companies globally. This article facilitated some personal thought to my own quest in giving enough back to the community, and what the importance of charity is in our Sikhi.

Wand kay shako is one of the three main concepts of Sikhi, which encourages Sikhs to share their earnings with those less fortunate than ourselves. Guru ka Langar is a way in which we distribute this concept in the Gurdwaras. Dasvandh is donating a tenth of our earnings. It’s interesting that there are many religions that uphold the concept that “a tenth” of your income should be donated to charity in some form. Although I know that other religions are strict in making sure this donation is made on an annual level, I am not sure whether we are as philanthropic? How much are you as families donating to the cause of Wand kay Shako? We are lucky to be a part of a religion that is so progressive and way ahead of the times. There is even more we can do to be more involved in the concept of “giving back”, because there are a growing number of organizations that are allowing us to contribute our “dasvandh” for a great cause - such as Sikhcess, Sikh Coalition, Sikhnet, and Sikh Giving. Many of these organizations have been started by our generation, which shows we truly are a generation of change and a generation of humanity!

Our elders have contributed to causes such as building new Gurdwaras, but personally I have a problem with the extensive buildings of Gurdwaras in one area. We should want to create unity for our community, and instead we are dividing ourselves more and more in this country. Contributing to a new Gurdwara would be a great cause, if we can contribute our views and make inclusions such as a senior centers, classrooms for children, and extensions which will allow our community to become more wholistic.

There is so much we can do, and we should all be inspired by the many unique ways in which we can “give”. There are camps for youth, like the Jakara Junior Camp, Film projects like Sikhnet’s, and ways to contribute to your local library through Sikh Coalition’s Library project. How have you “given” lately?

- By Anandica for The Langar Hall

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