"Shrink Wrap" is a material made of polymer plastic film which shrinks or contracts upon itself when heat is applied to it. It is a wonderful metaphor which I encountered a few days back while reading the article The Shrink Wrapping of India in Times Crest.
We as a nation are crazy about anything which is Western. Western clothing, food, aesthetic styles, life and the list goes on and on. While there is nothing wrong about choosing the very best when it comes to buying comforts, it certainly is a problem when one is not detached from it and gives his/her mind to it. As Swami Vivekananda puts it, "Detachment from the material world is living in the midst of it all but not being influenced by it."
While many of the best products like phones, AC's, computers etc in the world are Western (Absolutely no point denying that), we have to keep in mind that everything which comes out of the Western World is not Gold dust!
I would say that the West has achieved proficiency in perfecting the man's exterior but this craze for the materials and money has damaged the inner person to large extents. If the above mentioned article is read, we find that 40% suicide deaths in India are from the under-30 class (i.e the youth). The Sales of Anti-depressant pills have shot up to become comparable with the US.
The craze of the West or the Globalisation of the 1990s has introduced us to the "Pub Lifestyle". Just yesterday, I came across a fine article in the Marathi Daily 'Sakal' by a young girl named Tejaswini Patil who is currently studying in Pune at the post-grad level and hails from Nashik, Maharashtra. She has quoted that her friends call her a "small town girl" with absolutely no idea of the "real life" as she does not frequent the pubs. She has gone on to describe her first experience of the "real life" for the sake of knowledge. The central bar, the unlimited booze (which results in no sensory control leading to many things which I have no need to explain) and partying and the blaring deafening noise of DJ music - that is the "Atmosphere" which we love! She was appalled by what she witnessed and she ended her article with a sincere plea to all the youth class to stop and think about this. It is pretty serious when even school going kids are immersed in the above activities along with the College Students. This "Lifestyle" is not gold dust, is it?
American children go "independent" at 16 and the outcomes are visible to all. The Scholars of our culture along with the Psychiatrists are equivocal on one count - The average youth is losing or has lost the inner equipoise; the same equipoise which is the integral part of the teachings of Bhagavad Gita. I am sure that the readers would be aware that the philosophy of yoga is a hot selling subject in the Western world, why is it so? To a person crazy with the west, this would seem a "boring religious talk" but then, why is the west turning to the culture of Hindustaan to find the answers to many problems they face? Why does a United Nations Secretary General go on record in front of all the delegates to request the Hindustaani Culture to guide humanity in these difficult times? Why is the West conscious about the inner self now?
The fact is that the West committed a grave mistake when it assumed that more money and more luxuries are the master keys to a happy life. The richest of men are not content. Politicians do not stop accepting bribes even if they accumulate money beyond the wildest of dreams. Why is it so? Simply put, Money can buy us a magnificent bed, not a good night's sleep.
We have long followed the West in everything it has done from A to Z. There is a time lag to the adoption of Western way of life and that is where lies the great hope for realization; the realization of the fact that the West committed big blunders when they equated money with life; when they equated liquor, cigarettes and casual sex with true living. We need to ask ourselves, aren't we going the same way? Are we not wise men to learn from the mistakes committed by others and avoid these dangerous pitfalls? Are we going to lose our psychological balance while providing the excuse of living? It is like that story of the farmer who wanders hopelessly to find precious diamonds all over the world and learns on his deathbed that his son excavated a huge diamond bounty buried below their very farm. The West has made fun of our tradition, of our culture and of this "dirty, under developed, old world and poor" nation yet they turn to it to find inner peace and solitude much like the lawyer in "The Monk who sold his Ferrari" by Robin Sharma, who goes on a quest in the Himalayas after quitting his high income life to find true peace and returns to his nation rejuvenated by the ancient culture of Bhaarat. We need to understand the filter and its use. We need to take in only which is good and reject whatever that brings us harm. We need to remind ourselves that this nation is not poor. This nation is rich in knowledge, in culture and in wisdom; so much so that Alexander, threatened by the culture of this nation, had burnt the libraries of Takshashila and Nalanda upon his invasion of Bhaarat in 327 B.C. The Great Fire of the Burning Books lasted for months on end! (That is the sheer power of Bhaaratiya Culture)
I will end today's blog with a self explanatory story (courtesy spiritual-short-stories.com) which is rich in wisdom.
A group of Alumni highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Their conversation soon turned to stress in work and life. Offering his guest some coffee, the teacher went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass and crystal. Some were plain looking, some expensive and some exquisite. He asked his students to help themselves to the coffee. After everyone had a cup of coffee in hand, the Professor said, "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been claimed, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal and certainly acceptable for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup adds no quality to the coffee. In some cases, it is just more expensive and even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was the coffee, not the cup. But you consciously went for the best cups and then you began eyeing each other's to see who had the best one. Now consider this, Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we lead. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savour the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best out of everything. Live simply, Speak Kindly, Care Deeply and Love Generously."
Keep Fighting....
Live Free....
Jai Hind!
We as a nation are crazy about anything which is Western. Western clothing, food, aesthetic styles, life and the list goes on and on. While there is nothing wrong about choosing the very best when it comes to buying comforts, it certainly is a problem when one is not detached from it and gives his/her mind to it. As Swami Vivekananda puts it, "Detachment from the material world is living in the midst of it all but not being influenced by it."
While many of the best products like phones, AC's, computers etc in the world are Western (Absolutely no point denying that), we have to keep in mind that everything which comes out of the Western World is not Gold dust!
I would say that the West has achieved proficiency in perfecting the man's exterior but this craze for the materials and money has damaged the inner person to large extents. If the above mentioned article is read, we find that 40% suicide deaths in India are from the under-30 class (i.e the youth). The Sales of Anti-depressant pills have shot up to become comparable with the US.
The craze of the West or the Globalisation of the 1990s has introduced us to the "Pub Lifestyle". Just yesterday, I came across a fine article in the Marathi Daily 'Sakal' by a young girl named Tejaswini Patil who is currently studying in Pune at the post-grad level and hails from Nashik, Maharashtra. She has quoted that her friends call her a "small town girl" with absolutely no idea of the "real life" as she does not frequent the pubs. She has gone on to describe her first experience of the "real life" for the sake of knowledge. The central bar, the unlimited booze (which results in no sensory control leading to many things which I have no need to explain) and partying and the blaring deafening noise of DJ music - that is the "Atmosphere" which we love! She was appalled by what she witnessed and she ended her article with a sincere plea to all the youth class to stop and think about this. It is pretty serious when even school going kids are immersed in the above activities along with the College Students. This "Lifestyle" is not gold dust, is it?
American children go "independent" at 16 and the outcomes are visible to all. The Scholars of our culture along with the Psychiatrists are equivocal on one count - The average youth is losing or has lost the inner equipoise; the same equipoise which is the integral part of the teachings of Bhagavad Gita. I am sure that the readers would be aware that the philosophy of yoga is a hot selling subject in the Western world, why is it so? To a person crazy with the west, this would seem a "boring religious talk" but then, why is the west turning to the culture of Hindustaan to find the answers to many problems they face? Why does a United Nations Secretary General go on record in front of all the delegates to request the Hindustaani Culture to guide humanity in these difficult times? Why is the West conscious about the inner self now?
The fact is that the West committed a grave mistake when it assumed that more money and more luxuries are the master keys to a happy life. The richest of men are not content. Politicians do not stop accepting bribes even if they accumulate money beyond the wildest of dreams. Why is it so? Simply put, Money can buy us a magnificent bed, not a good night's sleep.
We have long followed the West in everything it has done from A to Z. There is a time lag to the adoption of Western way of life and that is where lies the great hope for realization; the realization of the fact that the West committed big blunders when they equated money with life; when they equated liquor, cigarettes and casual sex with true living. We need to ask ourselves, aren't we going the same way? Are we not wise men to learn from the mistakes committed by others and avoid these dangerous pitfalls? Are we going to lose our psychological balance while providing the excuse of living? It is like that story of the farmer who wanders hopelessly to find precious diamonds all over the world and learns on his deathbed that his son excavated a huge diamond bounty buried below their very farm. The West has made fun of our tradition, of our culture and of this "dirty, under developed, old world and poor" nation yet they turn to it to find inner peace and solitude much like the lawyer in "The Monk who sold his Ferrari" by Robin Sharma, who goes on a quest in the Himalayas after quitting his high income life to find true peace and returns to his nation rejuvenated by the ancient culture of Bhaarat. We need to understand the filter and its use. We need to take in only which is good and reject whatever that brings us harm. We need to remind ourselves that this nation is not poor. This nation is rich in knowledge, in culture and in wisdom; so much so that Alexander, threatened by the culture of this nation, had burnt the libraries of Takshashila and Nalanda upon his invasion of Bhaarat in 327 B.C. The Great Fire of the Burning Books lasted for months on end! (That is the sheer power of Bhaaratiya Culture)
I will end today's blog with a self explanatory story (courtesy spiritual-short-stories.com) which is rich in wisdom.
A group of Alumni highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Their conversation soon turned to stress in work and life. Offering his guest some coffee, the teacher went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass and crystal. Some were plain looking, some expensive and some exquisite. He asked his students to help themselves to the coffee. After everyone had a cup of coffee in hand, the Professor said, "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been claimed, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal and certainly acceptable for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup adds no quality to the coffee. In some cases, it is just more expensive and even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was the coffee, not the cup. But you consciously went for the best cups and then you began eyeing each other's to see who had the best one. Now consider this, Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we lead. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savour the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything, they just make the best out of everything. Live simply, Speak Kindly, Care Deeply and Love Generously."
Keep Fighting....
Live Free....
Jai Hind!
6 comments:
yes.....all agreed.....and liked the coffee-cup example a lot.....gud 1....
While I was reading your article.. I was reminded of Paulo Coelho's 'The Alchemist'... How the Shepherd finds the treasure nearby his home.. after a long voyage..
And of course, the coffee-cup example at end was excellent..
i loved this blog... :)
Need not mention how passionately feelings are embedded in the words..Great job Pal..
Hey nice blog:)
kyun bhaghte hai hum paschim ki taraf
suraj toh purab mein uugta hai,,,,,
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