Yogi Acceptance of Social Tax Levy
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Social engagement and responsibility constitute a tax on the observing one.
MiBeloved’s Response:
Yes it is a tax and no it is not a tax. A payment for services rendered in the past seems to be a tax but actually it is just due recompense. In banking it is always easy to take the loan up front and always a pain in the arse to have to pay it back step by step and especially the interest. Being on the receiving end is nice, having to deliver could be a bitch indeed!
Suryananda's Reaction:
Indeed, this repeated piece of realization has been very helpful to me over time. Accepting that paying tax is only a system of fairness is a positive and even moral attitude, which makes it a social duty for those who got something out, to put something back.
In societies where there is no tax system that encompasses for social services to the needy the rest of society is educated or sensibilized to provide alms to the needy. So contributions are essential in the environments we are part of and progress in.
As a tentatively practicing yogi, it has been greatly beneficial to understand that lesson as time progressed. This system covers a stringent collection system that spans from past lives but also immediate living circumstances situations.
Furthermore, when taxes are not paid in a timely fashion they are transferred or carried over, so there just is no getting around, even if the individual tax payers can think that they are escaping or evading for a time.
The significance of this observation and understanding is that a negative attitude gets in the way of learning and expanding from said circumstances, by closing the window of perception into comprehension, acceptance and learning. That said, a yogi is cautioned to avoid martyrdom and turning into a bleeding heart where they start giving to all the needy ones along the way and end up penniless at the end of day.
So one needs to carefully study and understand one’s engagements and responsibilities as it pertains to the concept of giving back or paying back. Regardless of gauging and counting one’s contributions it is still very much possible to end up penniless at the end of the day, once the immediate circle of responsibility is satisfied. I continually try to make efforts to understand such material mechanisms; their observation is a fertile ground for learning, growth and even advancement.
Again, for me it has been critical to see, observe and accept this mechanism, and in so doing continue to work on my attitude toward giving off. I am still not to the point of equating the sense of satisfaction of taking to that of the sense of so-called sacrifice in giving/ paying, or better yet be evenly disposed to either, since none is mine to keep, and ultimately their attachment will wrestle with the practice.
