Miser

I had the money To buy aplenty And I did spend On buying gold For the temple deity. Prayed, I diligently Every morning of Every day, Even my night Ended in prayers To the almighty. I spent lavishly On incense, To get the best Fragrance ~ For my favourite Gods – Rama, Krishna And Sai Baba. I made sure the Purohits had Enough booty From my share of wealth To perform All the holy functions Impeccably without Any dearth of Religious amenities So that I and my family Are blessed by the Holy trinity of Om Shivai Namaha, Vishnu and Brahma. And yet after spending So much on so many Candles, sweets, savouries And garlands of flowers In their beautiful bounty, I understand not Why people still call me A Miser, When I tell them that my money Is for the good, noble cause of Sanctity, upholding the Sanctum sanctorum of the Temple deity, And not squandering On giving alms to Beggars and lepers Who line the streets Anticipating my pity. I, a miser? God Almighty I gift you so much Out of love, affection And duty. They misunderstand me, Don’t they? For they call me a miser As I feed you instead of The hungry souls staring At me with hunger, poverty And depravity… But then, for me, Religion comes first So does the opulence In religious duty. Hence, I please you Almighty, with all the Frills and fills of Sumptuous feasts and Social elaborations of Kali Pooja, Durga Pooja, Ganesha Chaturthi, Dussehra And Diwali, not to mention My very own home worship Of the goddess of wealth And prosperity – Lakshmi Pooja Yet, they say I’m a miser? Can they not see how lavishly I spend to please thee… O God Almighty, Are they blind? Give them some vision So that they can see some Clarity in my charity that I do To appease the purohits - So that they take good care of you And in turn, I’m taken care by you. The lepers and the beggars, May they suffer their Karma Let them go bothering others But not me – as I’m with thee. In your esteemed comradeship, I’m above and beyond them. Let me not stoop below to uplift them Lest I fall and slip on the very floor They are on, and in the process, Lose thee, O God Almighty. Me, a miser? Let them say And call me such Miserable names. I, once and for all, Will always… Classify myself As an ardent devotee.