US comedian Louis CK's comments about 'functioning poverty' in India; Poverty traditions of many Indian Sufi and Hindu spiritual missions

Today I saw this recent article in the news: Comedian Louis CK says India has ‘functioning poverty’ which is still better than New York: ‘Nobody looks at you’. I think the remarks of Louis CK match my views. I have seen poverty in Mumbai and surrounding areas where I lived for most of my childhood and young adult years (till 2002), and in Puttaparthi and surrounding areas where I have lived over two decades now (from end 2002). In the 1980s and early 1990s, I have spent some time in the USA as well. It is with that background that I say that Louis' views match my views.

This triggered me to lookup some old posts of mine. I was very happy to see this post: Shirdi Sai Baba's life and sayings on Sufi Maqaams (stations) of faqr (poverty), sabr (patience) and tawakkul (trust/surrender), Sept. 2016. That's almost ten years back!

The post clearly covers the emphasis Shirdi Sai Baba laid on leading a life of poverty ('faqr') and how that is part of the traditional Sufi life. The traditional Hindu sannyasi of the past also had similar norms of leading a life of minimal material needs. Perhaps for these reasons, a poor person is not considered as a complete failure in India.

The impression I have is that poverty in India is hard, even though the government does quite a bit to help. But poverty in India, at least today, is not a death-sentence for most people, with the exceptions being the seriously ill who are in need of expensive medical care. Most of the very poor in India can still survive. Very importantly, IMHO, the very poor in India are generally not looked down upon as failures. They are part and parcel of the fabric of life, at least from the point of view of typical Indian spiritual missions—whether Hindu, Sufi/Muslim, or Christian—as well as state and central governments.