BANKERS' BONUS AND STREET SLEEPERS

Do not be too much greedy and selfish. The nursery rhyme cited in “The Wasteland” by great literary figure T.S. Eliot “London bridge is falling down, falling down” seems to be appropriate in the present context of London where selfish; money maker bankers have been engulfing the social values and shattered the society with their own new philosophy of “only money matters.”


As all over the world, London, the financial hub of the world was celebrating Christmas, the biggest festival of over one billion Christians around the world. There was contrast in the celebration as some people specially the London bankers have pushed the boat out with feast and festivities, joys and jubilation. While there were about 4,000 rough sleepers in London alone- and they are sleeping in the streets while the bankers, who took millions of pound as bonus, are enjoying idiotically and at the expense of the tax payers- each and every citizens of this country, however, rough sleepers, whose ambition is just to keep hand and mouth togehter, have been ignored. They are living 30 year shorter than average people of the city. Bankers, who are lavishly enjoying life at the cost of tax payers with millions of pounds of salary, bonuses and pensions, seem to be completely blind about the plight of so many people when in the heart of London 150- 300 people are camping outside the St Paul Cathedral for month’s for fairer society. Christmas is celebrated in memory of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life or was crucified for the sake of common people. According to the latest figures of charity Broadway, about 3,975 rough sleepers live in London. Most of them do not live there because they enjoy being homeless, do not like to work or live with family. The main reasons as most of the rough sleepers say in one voice, they do not have job, no family life or other problems like alcoholism or drugs which are serious social problems.

The country is under recession, the unemployment rate is going up, there is cut in each sector and in every corner of the country, there is pay freeze for some months and years, many industries are being closed making many people redundant. The root cause of all these problems is said to be the banking sector. The government is compelled to pump money to the banking sector in the hope of saving our economy so that the country vibrates like pumping blood to other organs of our body and save and make our economy prosperous. However, the bankers at the cost of the tax payers and at the cost of government’s good intention of injecting resources so that the whole country moves in the right track and at the cost of the very foundation and existence of the country, bribing and milking making the “London bridge is falling down, falling down” which has a symbolic meaning. It is the falling down of our economy. It is the falling down of our values and norms. It is the falling down of social and family values. It is the end of moral values like we saw during the summer riot in London and other parts of the country.
What is the difference between the plunderers during the London riot and the bankers? There is definitely some difference. One group burgled through arson and rioting wearing hoody and the other wearing suit and dining in the posh restaurants. The London rioters can justify their acts saying lack of opportunities for their living. But how can the bankers justify their plunder of millions of pound when millions of people have been living in extremely difficult circumstance? Like the London bridge in the nursery rhyme our social and family values are falling down. There is the degradation and draught of morality and integrity. We can improve the teenage rioters by better educating them, providing them employment and opportunities and teaching them about the importance of probity, decency and honesty. Most of them have said that they have “no future” as there is no any prospect of their future. Their action can be forgiven if they improve. However, how can we acquit the bankers for this mess and chaos of economic sector? Yes we can. But if the bankers do to mend this mess.

It is essential to understand the meaning of the nursery rhyme: give, be compassionate and self control (Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyat) as mentioned by the great literary figure Eliot, who had taken these from the Hindu scriptures Upanishads. Giving is the essence of all religions: Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and other religious denomination. While celebrating Christmas Arch Bishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has rightly said: “The most pressing question we now face, we might well say, is who and where we are as a society. Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost.”

"Whether it is an urban rioter mindlessly burning down a small shop that serves his community, or a speculator turning his back on the question of who bears the ultimate cost for his acquisitive adventures in the virtual reality of today's financial world, the picture is of atoms spinning apart in the dark," he said.

UK was not a country of selfish, greedy materialistic people in the past like today but a country of altruistic, moderate and noble personalities but that image of the United Kingdom is diminished into the dust due to the devil like money oriented selfish bankers. To revive the glorious past, it is essential to think of Datta, Dayadvam and Damyat (be selfless, give, be compassionate and self control). Rewind the values to solve the present day crisis, will our bankers listen the message of Williams or follow the nursery rhyme which they remember quite clearly even today?