It occurred to me recently, though it may have been true much earlier, that we have successfully manufactured for ourselves a situation that I think is unprecedented, particularly considering its scale. It is something that makes us forget the bird in hand for the two in the bush. It makes us run constantly. It gnaws away at us, and makes us wish we were somebody else, someone rich, someone affluent. In short, it never lets us be at peace with who we are, or what we have. The situation is this: we want “more” from life, even if we don’t need more. Corporates want more profits every quarter, ostensibly driven by shareholders’ restlessness; employees want more salary with each job that they move to, though their work be the same; we want to buy newer gadgets all the time though the older ones work just fine; we discard our mobile phones which are old but in perfect working condition in favour of new ones; we “move up” from a nice, comfortable two-wheeler to a four-wheeler; and so on and so forth. And the omnipresent advertising media is only too happy in letting us run after the mirage of a paper rose called materialistic fulfilment.

Though I was conscious of this phenomenon six years ago, it didn’t really grab my attention probably because I thought, at that time, that what I’d noticed was not widespread. I didn’t recognise it for what it was – the entrenchment of a new set of values that have been successfully eroding the credo that had contentment and thrift as its mainstay. Which brings to mind the question, What happened to this thing that was valued so high that it was one of the most sought-after mental states in this country: contentment? Along with that question come others. What’s the need to go hankering for more? Why do we feel compelled to add more to life (more in terms of money and material comforts)? Is it a need that we’re trying to satisfy, or a want that we want to convert to a need? Does having more necessarily lead to more happiness?

It is possible to trace this insatiable hunger, I feel, to that period in time when satellite television came to India in a big way. Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m not one of those cultural, let’s-go-back-to-stone-age activists. I’m not a luddite either. On the contrary, I’m pro-technology, and all for progress. What I take issue with is the definition of progress itself.

Satellite television per se is not bad. Like most technologies, its becoming a boon or a bane depends on how we put it to use. Where I think we have not done well as a society is in these areas: i) Not understanding why we follow certain customs and traditions ii) Letting that misunderstanding turn to mistrust iii) As a consequence of the growing mistrust, believing that what / whatever comes from across the seas must necessarily be a good thing since so many people who live life in accordance with it are prosperous.

Scientific and technological advancements have long reached a stage where they can help us live a happy and comfortable life. We have upgraded our farming methods to ensure a plentiful supply of food all round the year, sometimes even when rains have failed; great improvements in scientific and medical knowledge have resulted in humanity conquering many diseases and ailments; we’re not too far away from terraforming other planets that we find capable of supporting life, and thus making science fiction become, yet again, reality. Yet, despite all these conquests of nature and natural phenomena that have satisfied our physical needs, we’ve failed to satisfy our innermost needs: the emotional, psychological, intellectual and spiritual ones.

So we have a truly unique situation: nations spend hundreds of billions, perhaps even trillions, of insert-your-favourite-currency-here on defending their territories in the name of national defence, but many don’t commit even a fraction of that money on making the lives of thousands of people in their own country, and around the globe, a bit easier to live; we think nothing of spending hundreds on buying the latest gadgets, but we ponder many times over donating even a hundred to, for example, the victims of the Haiti earthquake; if we do so at all, we feel we have done enough to expiate our greed and / or self-indulgence. The human condition has become so depraved that if we see a homeless person or a beggar, or even a decent-looking person asking for some change, we either turn a blind eye, a deaf ear, or shrink away in doubt / fear, instead of wishing to help them. Of course, the increase in the number of psychopathic individuals, or perhaps our increased awareness to their presence among us (thanks to the various media), may be one reason for such an attitude, but even so, it’s remarkable how easy it is to shed our compassion than it is shed our fear of the unknown.

Where is all this leading us to? Where are we going? Will we survive for long, or merely be blips on our planet’s collective memory?

Tags: contentment, corporate culture, greed, philosophy, profits, self-inquiry