DAS VANDH (GIVING ONE TENTH) 

What is the secret of the tenth part? Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Master, told his Sikhs one-tenth of the earnings they received did not belong to them but belonged to God. When we give it  back to Him, then all of the wealth and prosperity, which is ours is revealed to us and is bestowed upon us.

 Sikhs first began bringing offerings to the Guru during the time of Guru Nanak. Guru Amar Das started the formal tradition of serving langar when he called upon his Sikhs to bring a portion of their crops and earnings to share in the community kitchen. During the time of Guru Arjun, the Guru's House fell upon difficult financial times. Guru Arjun Dev's elder brother, Prithi Chand, had performed certain dishonest acts which corrupted the system, and the Guru's court and langar began to fall short of cash. Bhai Gurdas and Baba Buddha became so concerned that they went to Guru Arjun asking what solution could be applied. Guru Arjun knew the Cosmic principle to reverse the trend and multiply their prosperity. He told his dear beloved Sikhs that the problem was simple: they had to collect the tenth part of everyone's earnings to contribute to the Guru's Court and the Guru ka Langar. Twenty-two Masands were appointed who went to visit the Sikhs on their farms and in their outlying villages each month, bringing them news of the Guru's mission and collecting the tenth part of their earnings to build their community bank. 

The Sikhs were given the realization that their concern was not merely their personal salvation, but being members of a community they also had a large set of duties and responsibilities. The ideal service of this larger context became intimately bound up with the concept of the Sikh Sangat. So the ideal of service for the Sikh ceases to be merely individualistic and involves a sense of corporate responsibility. A corporate sense could only arise if certain obligations were definite and universal so that the character of a corporate liability is evolved. 

All Sikhs should share their earnings with others. They should spend one-tenth of their earnings in charity, depositing cash or kind in the common pool. From that pool, multiple returns will spill forth providing wealth and total sustenance to all of its contributors.  

In Sikhism, "The Provider" is an often repeated attribute of God, and considered to be an important characteristic of the individual as well as the larger Sikh Body or Khalsa. The manifestation of the great benevolence of the Khalsa pours forth from the individual contributions of each of the Guru's Sikhs multiplied many fold; and like a fountain, it showers the blessings from the common pool on all of those who open their hearts and arms to receive. 

Now the question is: 'Do you need your future?' Then you give one-tenth for it! It is insurance; it is paying the premium, it is a participation in your own future. Because it is a law of the Universe that one-tenth of your income you must dedicate to God, to God's work. It is a law made by the Guru. If we say that we can't do it, it is because we don't have the endurance to do it. We don't have the continuity to do it. We don't have the values to do it. 

 Teachers must give an example and everyone must understand that they should give one-tenth because we are giving our all. But we as the leaders and Ministers have to give people the assurance first. 

Now is the time for Sikhs to heed the call and share in the tradition that has brought us where we are today. It begins with a faith and an intuition about the reality of our own consciousness.