Later, I had time to rejoin life, heal family fractures etc. Plenty rich now, ooops ... and happy ...
One thing I had already learnt before joining the BKs which may have contributed to staying involved as long as I did was that I knew how to live frugally. This suited the BK lifestyle. I never chased wealth. And when, like the Sex Pistols, the BKs convinced me there was
no future I often turned down opportunities that would have laid foundations for a materially more prosperous life.
The better foundational gift for "building a life" came from my parents. Firstly, living frugally was normal as we grew up. But the basics were always pelntiful - family, friends, healthy food, a rich culture that emphasised helpng others. Secondly, they helped me by gifting most of the deposit required to get a mortgage to a buy a delapidated old house. They were of the Depression-era generation, all about working hard, hoarding and saving. I initially refused his offer - I was still identifying as a BK at the time, the Cold War hadn't quite ended and
Vinash is more than a possibility i'n'it?
But he insisted, saying he had helped my siblings already and I was the last one that he'd not helped in any substantial financial way. He argued that despite the "bondage" that a mortgage appears to be, it would actually give me security and freedom I'd only come to appreciate later. So I accepted. He was right. The stake I had, this utilitarian asset I had, gave me leverage to navigate and survive the hard game of capitalism whose rules we're all forced to play by and in which there are inevitably many casualties.
Half a lifetime later (! - hoping for a long life folks), I am still fixing the place up, have gotten married, had a child who's now a most admirable adult. We've continued to live frugally, refinanced the mortgage a number of times, the "line of credit” the mortgage provides has enabled me to live simply , to get out of emergencies more easily than I otherwise would have been able to, and, most importantly we've also been able to, as my parents so often did, be able to help others simply live.
My main point here is that when it comes to the basics - the foundations on which a life can be built - the BKs are takers, not givers. They much prefer already materially-established upper and middle class converts who will swap their material excess for some intangible short-lived feel-good fluff. (I have seen BKs of senior rank show overt disdain and disrepect to BKs from poorer demographics - and lower caste - many times).
What people bring to BKs and take from BKs is a reflection of who they are and what they need. What the BK organisation’s teachings do, when followed closely, is turn free-thinking adults into Baba-dependent children who stay attached to their Baba and give all they can to Baba.
A good parent gives what they have to their child to give them the means and encouragement to leave the nest when they’re ready, to live freely and independently, able to serve others and the next generation the way they were served.
To pay it forward. With BKs there is no
forward. Your future is secured (say the shonky insurance guys) only by
paying it backward, I.E. to the yugya. And you need to keep paying; the premium you’ve paid only covers you up to this moment. You need to have set up "scheduled transfers" of mind, money and energy each and every day.
For most who do leave the BKs, the BKs still live in their heads, not only rent-free but still take time and energy from any who think its they that failed rather than the BKs.
10 Jan 2024
