6 minute read
A few desires more
from June 2021
By Venu Dorairaj
Sipping on a cup of filter coffee in my garden, I chanced on a procession of ants that were going about their business briskly. Apart from an occasional stop for a quick tête-à-tête with an oncoming mate, they were working hard to transport the food they had just discovered. The image of those ants - all similarly sized, singleminded, and working as hard as the other - bore a striking resemblance to our human populace crisscrossing the world as we go about our day-to-day busy lives.
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However, there end all similarities. Where these ants seem to be purely interested in their sustenance, the sad truth is that we seem to be predominantly focused on indulgence.
Gone are the days of the simple Roti, Kapada aur Makaan. Luxuries and possessions, enjoyed by a few, have now become an existential need for one and all, and this trend is gobbling up everything at an alarming speed. And like a Lion that has tasted blood, our every desire fulfilled is two new ones created. What drives our insatiable hunger for wealth, possessions and experiences; Why are we unable to reign in our desires and live a life of contentment with what we truly need?
All tough and relevant questions but with seemingly no easy answers. Yet, answers are available if only one would care to look deep enough.
RELIGIONS ON MATERIALISM
From scriptures to saints to sadhgurus, our history is replete with people who have transcended the world of possessions and entrapments and found a simpler way of living. Of course, it is naive to believe that we can all leave our lifestyles and follow their austere path. But their lives and stories could provide us with, perhaps, a thought or two on how to strike a crucial balance between our needs and wants; between our happiness and greed lest our avarice lead us to the same fate as the mythical King Midas.
As The Bhagavad Gita notes, it is not so much the wealth that is the problem but the attachment we build. “What attachment,” did you ask? The sort that we feel when we see that first scratch on our impeccable new car. Or the tiny crack on our latest smartphone or that tea stain on our new designer saree. All religions seem to warn of the dangers of such attachment and longing for possessions. Buddhism regards greed as one of the three poisons to beware of. Jainism believes materialism is an impediment to one’s happiness. It seems to be a universal doctrine among all religions that accumulation and attachment to wealth are the root cause of one's suffering.
Yet, we never tire of coveting and consuming more things without so much as a reflection as to what we truly need or feel gratitude for what we already have. Further, the euphoria over market economics, backed by the marketing hyperbole, has kept us tethered to the notion that the only way to happiness is to buy more stuff.
We seem conditioned to think that our only purpose today is to earn money, bucket loads of it, and find even more ways to spend it. But has this left us truly happy, or has it only made us more compulsive? The answer may lie in what we internally feel when our neighbour sports a brand new car or goes on a fancy vacation. Materialism seems to have left us constantly desiring more and more as we compare our lives with that of our friends and acquaintances.
THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Purandara Dasa, a wealthy merchant and a miserly one at that, renounced all his wealth to become a devotee of the Lord and led the life of a mendicant along with his family. Crafting some of the finest music in praise of Lord Vittala after this transformation, he is regarded as the Pitamaha of Carnatic Music. And all this while subsisting on just alms when he could have lived like a King. Could he have created such divine music while still being attached to his wealth? Perhaps, not. While we are tempted to seek returns in any small thing that we do, it is worth realizing that generations of musicians have subsequently performed and lived off of singing his innumerable songs.
Tyagaraja, one of the Trinity of music composers was once known to have been invited by a King to his darbar with promises of wealth. However, he politely refused the invitation and composed the famous song - Nidhi Chaala Sukhama, Ramuni Sannidhi Seva Sukhama - in response, preferring the bliss at Lord Rama’s feet to any amount of wealth. Even during his time, it must have been easy to be smitten by the temptation of wealth and the possibility of a ‘good life’ that it would usher. Nonetheless, he ignored the lure of it. Would we be able to say no to such an offer?
There have been innumerable such Saints and Swami’s who have given up their possessions and turned the corner for better. Closer to our times, we have had people like APJ Abdul Kalam and Mother Teresa, who have shown that a beautiful life can be crafted amidst all the pulls of the modern world. There have also been businessmen who have not only created wealth ethically for themselves but have also stood for equitable distribution of wealth. These people have shown us that there is away of life away from the desire for more and more.
The world has enough for every man’s need, but not everyone’s greed - Mahatma Gandhi
All these are indeed idealistic. Controlling our desires and wants is no easy task, even for the staunchest of us. It is said that the easiest way to trap a monkey is with a simple pitcher jar filled with nuts and fruits. The monkey is so caught up in getting more than what can be taken out of the mouth of the jar that it does not even let go of some from its fist to escape and ends up being captured. With all the evolutionary intellect, our plight is no better than these monkeys. Even though we recognize the entrapments of our desires and our ironical pursuit, we seem incapable of telling a need from a want. We are unable to know where the buck stops, and literally at that.
So, how do we find that elusive balance and be centered in a world that does its best to tempt us to indulge in more and more?
The fact is there is no silver bullet. Yet, these thoughts and questions are relevant to each and every one of us. Eventually, as one ponders deeply about these questions, specific and personal answers will emerge that should help one find that sweet spot of contentment and happiness. A first step maybe to just be grateful for what we have and mindful of our real needs. Perhaps those ants know something we do not?
As I watched the Sunday Sun quickly vanish on the horizon, I glanced again at the busy ants as a quote by Mahatma Gandhi popped in my head. Gandhiji is said to have observed astutely that, “The world has enough for every man’s need, but not everyone’s greed”.
I wondered, sadly though, if the world had enough to fulfill even one man’s greed.
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