A couple of events or rather
phenomenon that are happening in the world today and drawing queer responses
from the wise is disturbing me. I am primarily referring to the precarious economic
crises in Europe and the USA. The west is richer and a better place to live, no
doubts about that. The people in the western countries have a better life style
is also true. But does that justify people and countries to live beyond their
means?
I would not like to argue this
from an economic point of view alone as the wise are currently doing. Every
expert worth their weight in salt criticizes Greece, Spain and America from the
perspective of (a) huge budget deficit wherein the Government spends more on
welfare than it collects by way of taxes, and (b) people at their individual
level are spending more than they are earning. Nobody has a solution to offer. How
can they have a solution? Capitalism, Socialism or a refined mixture of the two,
whatever policies one may follow, cannot offer a solution against itself. This
is primarily because life is not just an economic problem to solve.
Life is continuous cycle of birth
and death and the current condition depends on one’s past actions. The two
variable both unknown and indeterminate in this equation are (i) one does not
know of one’s past actions and therefore current expected levels of
comforts/discomforts cannot be expected or anticipated, (ii) for each
individual this above factor is different. It is not as if Socialism or
Capitalism is at fault or a failure. It is just that some people or group of
people (call them a country) are doing better or worse than others. That is
also because people of similar nature tend to live together just like birds of
the same feather flock together. So we always have situations where some
families do better than others and taking the argument further where some
countries are doing better than others. But each one, whether individual or
family or group or country has its own band, a band with an upper limit and a
lower limit of permissible levels of comforts/discomforts. Whenever these folks
try to exceed these limits, life does not support them. Inspite of best
policies and best intentions, their flight of fancy is grounded.
The economic theory of Consumerism
would not accept this argument, Christian faith which does not believe in
rebirth would not accept this and neither would modern science. When somebody
says that ‘in life we always get what we deserve and never what we desire’, it
is immediately branded as defeatist, fatalistic and plain rubbish.
I am not a thinker, nor a
philosopher, but I can jot down a few suggestions for the people of this world
to ponder. (a) do good action always, whether it be of the mind, mouth or body,
life will always keep improving; (b) listen to your inner voice rather than
what commercial ads and peers tell you about what is good for you; (c) stay
within decent limits of austerities, today a car is a necessity but a cheaper
car is always preferable than a costlier one; (d) consider your work as a duty
rather than as a means to an end, do your duty and leave the rest to life to
decide; (e)live through whatever situation life places you, without any
reaction but with a smile, encourage others to do the same, charity and welfare
is welcome to the extent it facilitates to stand up and work and not beyond;
(f) poor cannot be eliminated from the world, they are there because of their
own deeds and they have been there since beginning of time; (g) loss of every
kind is inevitable, some have a bigger share depending on past actions, take it
in your stride and encourage others to do the same.
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