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Book: Hindu Dharma, Written by Swami Chandrashekarendra
Saraswati |
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Now people want to live in comfort and to be provided with all sorts of
amenities. There is no end to their unseemly desires. In America, it is
said,
everybody has a bungalow, car, radio, telephone, etc. But are people
there contented? No. There is more discontent in that country than in
our
own. There the incidence of crime is more than anywhere else. It is all
right that every American has a car. But today's car is not good enough
for them tomorrow. More and more new models keep coming in the
market and each new model offers more comfort than the previous one.
This means that the American citizen is compelled to earn more with the
appearance of each new car. A time may come when aircraft will be used
in the U. S. for people to fly from house to house.
Similarly, we see such a progression all over the world in the matter of
housing. First there was the hovel or the hut; then came the dwelling
with the tiled roof; afterwards houses with cement and concrete walls.
The flooring also changed over the years. First the floor was wiped with
cowdung; then it was plastered and cemented; the mosaic flooring came
later; and the search is on for smoother and shinier surfaces. It is the
same case with clothing - better and finer fabrics are being made
everyday. Although we are already living in comfort we are all the time
using our ingenuity to discover objects and gadgets that will make our
life
still easier. However, all the time we are likely to have the feeling of
uneasiness with all the comforts we already possess and this means there
will be no end to our yearnings. Not knowing any contentment or peace
of mind we are compelled to earn more and more. It is like thinking that
fire can be extinguished by pouring petrol on it; we keep discovering
newer and newer objects but in the progress we keep further inflaming
our longing for ease and comfort.
This truth was known to our sages, to our forefathers. They taught us
that
we ought not to seek more than our bare needs. In recent times Gandhiji
impressed upon the people the same lesson.
In this century, people seek ostentatious living in the name of
progress.
So long as the hunger for new comforts continue neither the individual
nor society will have contentment. There will always be feelings of
rivalry,
jealousy and heart-burning among people. In the varnasrama dharma,
the Brahmin and non-Brahmin are equal economically speaking. In spite
of the caste differences, the same simple living is enjoined on all. The
ideal of equality can be achieved only if all people live a simple life.
In this
order every individual experiences contentment and inner happiness and
no one has cause of envying others their prosperity.
No man, whatever his vocation, should have either too much money or
too many comforts. Above all what is important is that for which all
these
are intended but that which cannot be truly obtained through them:
contentment and a sense of fullness within. Only when there is inner
satisfaction can one meditate on the Lord. And only in the mind of a man
who has such contentment is the Ultimate Truth realised as a reality.
When a person has too many comforts he will be incapable of going
beyond the stage of sensual pleasures. If he is addicted to enjoyments,
without any need for physical exertion, he will do injury to his mind,
and
his inner being. Hard work and the capacity to suffer discomforts are
essential for those who yearn for Atmic uplift. They will then learn to
realise that there is comfort in discomfort and in hard work. |
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