Hari
Om
Each 'Choose-day' we will investigate the process by
which we can reassess our activity and interaction with the world of plurality
and become more congruent within our personality.
The next little prasaada-pushtaka (gift-book) we are
studying is Sw. Tejoymayananda's "Take Charge of Your Life". Guru-ji
is a wonderfully pragmatic personality and has a strongly down-to-earth
approach to life and application of Vedanta. These are going to be short, sharp
bursts
of applied 'shreyas-preyas' decision
making!
REDUCE
ARTIFICIAL NEEDS [NB; AV-blog has edited this
section quite heavily as the subject is very pertinent for making saadhana].
We
are creating more and more artificial 'needs'. No matter how much we earn, it
is 'never enough'. No matter how many things we have, there is never the
'thing' for this or that.
The
basic needs of food, clothing and shelter are easily met by most; yet even if
there are three wardrobes full of clothing, something new must always be added;
"**'s party means I need that new dress/handbag/pair of shoes…" An
extra bedroom 'would be nice'. We need all those groceries because… yet things
are so pricey and now there is not enough money…
Truly,
think about it, have you ever sat down and down a full and proper budget based
on the absolute necessities? Not the extra 'necessities', note, but the bare
essentials. Simple but nourishing foods, curtailed power usage to what is only
required to make food and keep warm/cool and maintain emergency contacts,
ensured upkeep of the dwelling so that shelter is dry and comfy and that there
is a change of clothing for seven days. This is all that is required! Anything
else is artificial need, built up from years of relative peace, commercialism,
materialism and the human desire to acquire.
We
give too much importance to social status and prestige. Our cars define social
status - our clothes - our homes. Brands matter in our current situation.
The more we feed the desire for these
artificial 'needs' the more we will find that we always feeling a lack of the
wherewithal to fund them.
There
are communities and whole countries in the world for whom the bare essentials
are even hard to come by - yet very often when visited, it is found that they
live contented lives and are accepting of their lot. They have deep cultural
awareness and strong spiritual flow. The higher up the material ladder the
community becomes, the weaker becomes that awareness and flow. The further we
get from self-sustenance and barter systems, the more we move into esoteric
economics, the more inflated becomes the baseline for the basic needs of life
and the result is an 'underskirt' society in the so called developed nations.
Those who fall below the 'bread line'… a figure which seen in global context is
far above that of the most-well off in the less developed nations. Yes,
everything is relative; but in matter of spirit there is a nominal requirement,
no matter where or how we live. It is that we live simply, cleanly and with
minimal effect upon those around us. To live beyond these points is to engage
with the material and to begin building 'artificial' needs. If we are
constantly in a state of comparison with those who have more (and there will
always be those with more), we will never be satisfied, never be happy, be
always in a state of 'need'.
To
be truly in a state of need is to be without a safe home in which to rest each
night and to eat our meals; to be truly in a state of need we need to live with
the thought of no meal today and no prospect of one tomorrow. Those truly in
need will not be reading this, they will be busily engaged in their respective
activities in meeting their basic needs. Be assured, such folk live right there
in your own community. No matter where you live in the world.
SAADHANA
If
we are fortunate enough to have a computer, as well as the luxury to be
engaging in philosophical rumination, we must raise our voices in gratitude and
withdraw any sense of 'lack' in our own lives. If we know of someone in our
community who is truly in a state of need, we can seek to make a difference. We
can be the neighbour who quietly prepares some soup and sandwiches and delivers
to the door without ceremony, not worrying whether we get the pot back. We can
be the passer-by who buys the cup of soup and packet of chips to hand to the
beggar on the street. At the very least we can monitor our judgement of those
who have true need and our assumptions about their lack. Most of all, we can
monitor ourselves and be grateful, asserting never again to fall into 'lack
mentality'.
