Understanding Wealth

In common parlance diwali is considered to be the festival of lights, sweets and crackers. But that is just kidstuff meant for popular consumption. Diwali is essentially about worshipping Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth. Wealth that is matter. Wealth that matters. So it is a matter of wealth. It is ironical though that this Goddess of wealth prefers to ride an owl, the bird traditionally thought to be inauspicious having only night vision and signifying an idiot in the popular India lingo Hindi. We have celebrated diwali just a couple of days ago and it is only appropriate that we talk wealth. Not just how to get it, but also how to retain it; utilize it and understand it too. For most wealth is all about money and propitiating of the Goddess is done with much fan fare only to please her and get wealth in return. A few get it, too, although most lose it in the long run. But is wealth only about money? Perhaps not and naturally, gambling cannot be the only way to gain wealth. The question then is what is wealth. Well defining it is beyond purview of economics and commerce. In economics money means the means of exchange and for commerce it is the exchange that means money. The, fact however is that both these views are partial if not wholly out of place. Why money is considered wealth is because people think it gives happiness or may lead to happiness. So money also remains a means. But does this not mean that it is happiness and not money that is to be pursued. Probably yes. Though there are some who are in pursuit of money for its own sake. And ultimately repent.
The story of Midas, the legendary king of Phrygia is a case in point. His greed made him seek a boon from a Greek god that whatever he touched should turn into gold. His belief that wealth is the best thing that a man can have made him seek this boon. When Midas found that it was actually happening, he became so ecstatic that he wanted everything to turn into gold . But as he ordered a splendid banquet to celebrate his unqualified success things started going wrong. He grasped a piece of bread and it turned into gold. He took wine to drink but as it touched his lips it turned into molten gold. The story goes that he kissed his daughter and she also turned into gold. Then he could realize his mistake. He begged to the God to forgive him and take back the boon which actually turned out to be a curse. The story gives a very important lesson that wealth is neither a means to everything nor can be everything. Post Diwali the lesson needs to be learnt. The pleasure, the happiness, the peace of mind are real wealth and certainly more valuable than the wealth as we understand in the present lexicon.
The Diwali that we celebrated should remind us of this basic truth. We need to worship the Goddess to seek her boon for the real wealth. To bring smile on some body’s lips, to relieve some body’s pain, to wipe some body’s tears, that gives real happiness. And it is this happiness that is the real wealth. Those who crave only for material wealth spend their life searching for an ever elusive satisfaction.

Why is Ravana Still alive

So yet another Dussehra is over. Dussehra, the festival signifying the triumph of good over evil for umpteenth number of time has been celebrated with the same traditional gaiety and religious fervour as in the past. Except for that tragic incident of Patna resulting in loss of several lives, rest of the things have not changed much. The same huge effigies of Ravana, the demon king who is supposed to be the incarnation of evil, were being destroyed amidst full public glare. While ecstatic crowds cheered frenetically with every loud burst of crackers blowing to smithereens the parts of the gigantic effigy of Ravana’s body, a feeling of complacency also seemed to set in. Of having destroyed Ravana. But have we really destroyed him. Thinking more deeply, we may realize that Ravana persists. He lives on despite being burnt year after year. And as we ponder over this, a sense of deja vu, of things remaining the same engulf us. Why have we not been able to kill Ravana? The question must be answered as we look around us to find various manifestations of Ravana symbolising evil of all kinds affecting the society at a nauseating frequency. In the epic Ramayana, Rama also did not succeed in killing Ravana till Vibhishana disclosed the secret of the demon king’s invincibility. Thus, when the arrow was shot at the right spot only then did Ravana perish. We too need to understand the nature of Ravana. Only then can he be killed. Who or rather what is Ravana?

We are not talking about that Ravana the demon king slain by Lord Rama in the Treta yuga the period when Rama lived. That Ravana is no longer the issue. The issue is the evil that conttinues to persist. The demonic tendencies that seem to influence incidents all around us. The attitude that leads to undesirable behaviour. It is this Ravana, that we try to kill through the burning of large sized effigies symbolising the evil traits that the demon king of the yonder age represented. What were those undesirable traits? They were Ahankara or Vanity, Vaasna or lust, Lobha or Greed, Irshiya or Envy, Krodha or Anger and above all the false belief of invulnerable status which blurred the line between the right and the wrong. As long as these exist, Ravana exists. The unfortunate reality is that these traits are found in all of us, with just one difference that their influence on behaviour varies from person to person. They are all vices of the ego that affects our desires and directs our behaviour. This ego has to be tamed if Ravana is to be annihilated.

The ritual of burning effigies of Ravana can hardly be effective if the Ravana that exists within us is not killed. There is thus need to understand that the way to finish Ravana is not through the ritual but the spiritual. Rituals can only work if they lead us to the spiritual path, the path of Dharma. We must learn to tame our negative feelings that often provoke us to travel the path that is not desirable. Ravana was representing Adharma and can only be killed by Dharma.

Cleanliness is Godliness

In 1925 Gandhi had written that a lavatory must be as clean as a drawing room and he proclaimed that he had learned this in the West. He had rightly observed that the cause of many of our diseases is the condition of our lavatories and our bad habit of disposing excreta anywhere and everywhere. Why did it take so long to understand this basic philosophy of Gandhi’s life is certainly intriguing. But then, better late than never.

In the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan(Clean India campaign) of our Prime Minister may lie answers to many of our woes. It is only befitting to Gandhi to that we launched it on October 2, his birthday. While the campaign may find its cynical critiques the fact is that it may ultimately lead to change of ways of we Indians, large majority of which spits and shits indiscriminately. Not that efforts were not made earlier. Just, they did not reach the people with the right impact. Celebrating World Environment Day every year has the same objective. But it does not have the desired effect as it addresses the classes. Moreover it is largely ritualistic and lacks popular appeal. But even this has created some awareness. The present clean India campaign appears to be different as of now. From closed confines of elitist seminars to the down to earth approach of hitting the streets by the brooms, the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan aims to strike a different chord. It attempts to reach the grassroots and involve the masses.

Etiquettes and manners related to sanitation and hygiene were perhaps those things we failed to learn from the West. Although we imbibed many elements of their lifestyle, most of those were undesirable ones. For instance aping the rugged unshaven cowboyish ruffian spitting anywhere and everywhere in a popular Hollywood action movie. Or the semi clad woman vamp yelling the unprintables.

Where the seminars has not been able to create the degree of awareness about hygiene and sanitation up to the desired level, let us hope the present campaign does. We need to take the clean India slogan to the common man whose contribution to stench and filth on the street is quite significant. And he does it with a non-chalance, ignorantly. If we can make him aware of the impact of his actions to the environment, the society and his own life he perhaps would learn where he has been going wrong. Hygiene is a matter of attitude and attitude change is possible only with awareness. And mind you experience tells that awareness works . Things have change in the past few years. The vendor in the air conditioned compartments of long distance trains who used to give the peanuts to a customer in a paper packet, now gives an additional packet and tells that the broken peanut shells should be put in that and thrown outside rather than being allowed to be strewn all over the berth. So he realizes his responsibilities. The present campaign may also work. Rather it may revolutionize the ways of India. So let us make clean India campaign work. It may be slow to pick up but then as Mark Twain had said, soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre but they are more deadly in the long run.

Dharma Provides The Rules of Living

Realizing the importance of Dharma does not come to most people as they fail to understand that this world is not homocentric, that is, it is for the benefit of human beings only. This world view is a falsehood that has been perpetrated by the Western attitude that God has given complete dominion to man over this natural world and is not concerned with how we treat this. Nothing can be further from truth. This world is a part of the larger natural order were certain rules of living are to be observed if we want to ensure sustainability and peace. Perhaps, the idea of Noah’s Arc would give us some clues as to the God’s design of this universe. In Management theory also there is the notion of the system’s approach that talks about a holistic world view, the underlying premise being harmonious coexistence of various parts and subparts of the larger supra system of which this world is an independent yet connected unit.
The idea of how to live in this world can be understood by the analogy of the traffic rules that have been conceptualized for orderly flow of traffic on the roads and safety of the travelers. Even as the Government is thinking of ensuring further order on the roads by laying down certain new laws and regulations there is need to compare traffic movement on roads with social order. Driving at early hours on the roads of Delhi anybody would realize this if he or she has thoughtfully tread with his eyes and ears open. In the morning hours, when there is no policing and the traffic rules are not enforceable, just see how the vehicles ply. Different kinds of vehicles like scooters, rickshaws, motorcycles, cars, buses and trucks, all plying at their own speed on their own tracks. Now the point to be thought is that these vehicles follow a simple self ordained rule, not to run over, crush or crash. As long as this is practiced the journey is safe for all. Now , if they don’t follow this simple principle of safe and orderly driving, taking care of the interests of others, accidents will take place. Dharma is also like this. It provides rules for living in the society harmoniously.
If those rules are not followed accidents take place and the peace and harmony is disrupted, and the equilibrium is disturbed that ultimately affects the whole system.
Dharma regulates the conduct of the different elements of the society. The lack of regard for a general and commanding idea like Dharma is one of the weaknesses of the modern society which has lead to such a chaotic situation. The values crisis that is being witnessed in the society will have to be seen in this light. Dharma is the means through which the values crisis of this modern society has to be resolved. We have mistakenly tried to see Dharma as a religion. This is the problem. Dharma is not a religion, rather it is the religion which is to establish harmonious coexistence in the society. Like the traffic rules which need to be followed for disciplined driving on the roads. And adhering to tenets of Dharma will make the society orderly and peaceful like the traffic rules make roads safe and peaceful if followed religiously. Dharma provides the rules for living.