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This whole discourse on standard of living needs to looked at from a Dharmic lens. And we have had our own Acharyas talk about it! There is a beautiful discourse on this topic by erstwhile Sringeri Shankaracharya Jagadguru Chandrasekhara Bharathi.
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In one of the quiet villages where His Holiness was camping for a few days, a party of villagers, including Brahamans, came one evening to pay their respects to him and while doing so their spokesman said:
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D: Till some years back, our village was a prosperous one.During recent years, however, it has gone down very much.We pray therefore that your Holiness will be pleased to confer your blessings upon us, so that the village may once again get back to its former prosperity.
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HH: Certainly the Lord will listen to your earnest prayers.
But I desire to point out that an appeal to the Lord is necessary only when the remedy is not in our hands.
D: How is the remedy in our hands?
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But I desire to point out that an appeal to the Lord is necessary only when the remedy is not in our hands.
D: How is the remedy in our hands?
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HH: You tell me that the village has gone down in prosperity during the recent years. But, if my information is not incorrect, there are more storeyed houses now than before
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and the houses are mostly built in stone, brick and mortar and are well lighted, well ventilated and attractive, quite unlike the mud-walled dark and dingy thatched huts in which your forefathers spent their lives.
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D: It is no doubt so.
HH: You wear clothes finer and costlier than what your ancestors were content with and have very many things which they never even dreamt of
D: Certainly.
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HH: You wear clothes finer and costlier than what your ancestors were content with and have very many things which they never even dreamt of
D: Certainly.
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HH: While they traveled by rickety carts along muddy roads to villages only a few miles away, you can now travel by the best of motor cars over well-paved roads to places thirty times more distant in about the same time.
D: It is true we have all this.
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D: It is true we have all this.
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HH: While they had to be content with the oil lamp of local manufacture to light their houses, you get yours from
across the seas; you have brilliant lights now, even if electric installations have not yet reached your village.
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across the seas; you have brilliant lights now, even if electric installations have not yet reached your village.
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D: No doubt, we have.
HH: Then what is your complaint? You have in abundance all the requisites of comfort and happiness, far more than your ancestors had. What more do you want?
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HH: Then what is your complaint? You have in abundance all the requisites of comfort and happiness, far more than your ancestors had. What more do you want?
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D: It is true that we have all these things, but the fact remains that we are not as comfortable and happy as our forefathers.
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HH: How can that be? If the means of happiness have, as you admit, increased, happiness also must have increased. It cannot possibly be reduced in any case.
D: It is however reduced and we desire to know how we can regain the old happy state
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D: It is however reduced and we desire to know how we can regain the old happy state
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HH: Then we must enquire into the matter a little deeper.
There must be something wrong somewhere.
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There must be something wrong somewhere.
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If, as you admit, the means of happiness have increased, the only possible logical conclusion is, either that we are wrong in the assumption of the real means of happiness, assuming that they are real means.
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We shall first consider whether the modern improvements that you now enjoy are really the means of happiness. Ordinarily, we deduce the relationship of cause and effect between two things if one of them invariably precedes the other.
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This method is positive and is known as the anvaya method. The negative method is known as vyatireka, that is, when we deduce the relationship of cause and effect between two things by noticing that the absence of the one invariably precedes the absence of the other.
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We note that the existence of wet clay invariably precedes the making of a clay pot. We note also that if no wet clay is available no clay pot can be made. We infer from these two parallel and corroborating facts that wet clay is the cause and the pot is the effect.
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Similarly, if we want to verify the statement that the modern advantages are the cause of happiness, we must adopt these two methods. Now you find that you enjoy these modern amenities and yet have no happiness?
D: It is so.
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D: It is so.
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HH: That means that the reasoning by the anvaya method does not lead you to the conclusion that they are related as cause and effect.
D: It seems so.
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D: It seems so.
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HH: You further admit that your forefathers did not have these modern amenities and yet were happy.
D: They were.
HH: This again means that the reasoning by the vyatireka method also does not establish such a relationship.
D: It is so.
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D: They were.
HH: This again means that the reasoning by the vyatireka method also does not establish such a relationship.
D: It is so.
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HH: It follows therefore that the modern amenities are not the real means of happiness.
D: Logically it does.
HH: But we do want happiness?
D: Certainly.
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D: Logically it does.
HH: But we do want happiness?
D: Certainly.
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HH: We must not therefore stop with merely throwing
overboard the advantages that we have, but must seek to know what are the real means of happiness and try to obtain them.
D: No doubt, but what are those means?
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overboard the advantages that we have, but must seek to know what are the real means of happiness and try to obtain them.
D: No doubt, but what are those means?
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HH: That is exactly the question to be considered now. Adopting the same line of reasoning, we must ascertain what means were present when our ancestors were happy and what is absent in us now when we are not happy.
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D: Certainly, but what is that?
HH: Think for a while yourself they performed their daily Vedic rites and attended punctiliously to the dictates of the Dharma sastras. Did they not?
D: Certainly they did.
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HH: Think for a while yourself they performed their daily Vedic rites and attended punctiliously to the dictates of the Dharma sastras. Did they not?
D: Certainly they did.
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HH: Now, you neglect them, don't you?
D: I fear, we do.
HH: They had achara or right conduct and had great regard for virtues like truth. You cannot say that you have such a conduct or such a regard.
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D: I fear, we do.
HH: They had achara or right conduct and had great regard for virtues like truth. You cannot say that you have such a conduct or such a regard.
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D: I must confess, we have not.
HH: Why did they perform their religious duties so well and why do you neglect them?
D: I suppose the times are responsible for it.
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HH: Why did they perform their religious duties so well and why do you neglect them?
D: I suppose the times are responsible for it.
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HH: That is a lame excuse and explains nothing. The truth is that you are wanting in the faith that your ancestors had.
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D: That is true.
HH: It seems, therefore, that people were happy when they had faith and acted according to it and that people are not happy when they are wanting in faith and neglect their duties.
D: Yes.
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HH: It seems, therefore, that people were happy when they had faith and acted according to it and that people are not happy when they are wanting in faith and neglect their duties.
D: Yes.
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HH: Sraddha or faith and Dharma or right action are thus invariably present where happiness is found and are invariably absent where happiness is not found. They are therefore the cause of happiness. Get them back and you will get back your happiness.
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D: But we see even now that there are a large number of people who have sraddha and stick to their Dharma, but are no more happy than ourselves.
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HH: That is not correct. It may be that they are not in as affluent circumstances as others but, as I have pointed out, that is no criterion of their happiness. Happiness is a state of mind and cannot be gauged by the quality or quantity of external possessions.
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A person may be the lord of all the three worlds and yet be unhappy another may be the poorest of beggars and yet be the happiest man in the world.
D: I quite see it. On what then does happiness depend?
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D: I quite see it. On what then does happiness depend?
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HH: Ordinarily speaking, we say that we are happy when we get the thing we are longing for.
D: Yes.
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D: Yes.
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HH: At the time when we are longing for a thing, our mind is in a state of unrest; but when we get that thing, the state of unrest is replaced by a sense of rest or peace.
D: Yes.
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D: Yes.
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HH: We say, again, that we are happy when we get rid of a thing which we were loathing.
D: Yes.
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D: Yes.
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HH: At the time when we are loathing a thing, our mind in a state of unrest; but when we get rid of that thing, the state of unrest is replaced by a sense of rest or peace.
D: Yes
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D: Yes
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HH: We say, again, that we are happy when we get rid of a thing which we were loathing.
D: Yes.
HH: At the time when we are loathing a thing, our mind is in a state of unrest; but when we get rid of that thing, the state of unrest is replaced by a sense of rest or peace.
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D: Yes.
HH: At the time when we are loathing a thing, our mind is in a state of unrest; but when we get rid of that thing, the state of unrest is replaced by a sense of rest or peace.
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D: Yes.
HH: In either case, therefore, it would seem that happiness is practically identical with the feeling of rest or peace.
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HH: In either case, therefore, it would seem that happiness is practically identical with the feeling of rest or peace.
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It does not matter what exactly is the immediate occasion for it, whether it be the obtaining of a desirable object or the getting rid of an undesirable object. Happiness follow when a preceding state of unrest is ended.
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D: It is so.
HH: It cannot matter also how that preceding state of unrest is ended. Obtaining a thing or getting rid of another is the ordinary method of stopping the unrest. But, if there is some other method by which it can be stopped, even then happiness is bound to follow.
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HH: It cannot matter also how that preceding state of unrest is ended. Obtaining a thing or getting rid of another is the ordinary method of stopping the unrest. But, if there is some other method by which it can be stopped, even then happiness is bound to follow.
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D: Certainly.
HH: The number of things in the world that can awaken desire is infinite. If a man gets a particular thing, the mental unrest caused by the longing for that thing may cease, but it will only be replaced by another mental unrest caused by the
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HH: The number of things in the world that can awaken desire is infinite. If a man gets a particular thing, the mental unrest caused by the longing for that thing may cease, but it will only be replaced by another mental unrest caused by the
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longing for another thing. The process will be repeating itself ad infinitum as there is no limit to the number of things which can be desired. It is therefore practically impossible to obtain absolute mental rest by trying to satisfy our longings.
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Similarly, the number of things that are undesirable is also infinite. If you get rid of a particular undesirable object, no doubt you get mental peace for the moment; but the next moment you will become restless, because another thing will be troubling you.
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The process here also will be going on indefinitely and interminably as the things that may give us trouble in the world are countless. It is equally impossible therefore to obtain absolute mental rest by trying to get rid of or avoiding troublesome things.
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D: But we do want mental peace.
HH: Quite so. If, therefore, we seek to allay our unrest by trying to secure the things which the mind asks for or to get rid of the things which disturb it, we must
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HH: Quite so. If, therefore, we seek to allay our unrest by trying to secure the things which the mind asks for or to get rid of the things which disturb it, we must
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ever remain searching for peace, which never can be attained. It must also be borne in mind that it is not quite within our competence to obtain or get rid of a particular thing at our pleasure; in fact, we are slaves of circumstances, if we depend upon them for our happiness.
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D: How else then are we to get peace and happiness?
HH: Is it a necessary condition of health that it must have been preceded by a state of ill-health?
D: Certainly not.
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HH: Is it a necessary condition of health that it must have been preceded by a state of ill-health?
D: Certainly not.
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HH: A man is said to be healthy when he has no sickness.
He need not have been sick before.
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He need not have been sick before.
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D: No.
HH: It will therefore, be foolish to define a healthy man as one who has suffered from a disease and is now free from it.
Certainly such a man maybe called healthy but the expression 'healthy man cannot be applied to him.
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HH: It will therefore, be foolish to define a healthy man as one who has suffered from a disease and is now free from it.
Certainly such a man maybe called healthy but the expression 'healthy man cannot be applied to him.
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Freedom from sickness is a condition of health but certainly not an antecedent sickness and a recovery from it.
D: Quite so. But I fail to see the relevancy here.
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D: Quite so. But I fail to see the relevancy here.
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HH: Similarly, happiness can only mean a freedom from unhappiness; it cannot be a necessary condition of happiness that it should have been preceded by a state of unhappiness.
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A man whose mental equilibrium has been disturbed by an attraction to a particular thing or by a repulsion to another may be called happy when the equilibrium is once again restored by the thing being obtained or got rid of, as the case may be.
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But, it will be foolish to say that all happiness necessarily assumes a previous state of unrest.
D: It will be so.
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D: It will be so.
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HH: As we can conceive of health without assuming a preceding sickness, so must we be able to conceive of happiness without assuming a preceding mental unrest.
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In fact, the health which is not preceded by a sickness is more natural, perfect and permanent than the one which comes into being on the cessation of a sickness.
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Similarly, the happiness which is not preceded by a mental disturbance will be more natural, perfect and enduring than the one which follows a mental disturbance.
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D: It is bound to be so. But how can we get such a happiness? Ordinarily we get it only by seeking pleasure or avoiding pain?
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HH: Quite so. But, if there is a third method by which you can have happiness without undergoing the antecedent trouble of seeking pleasure or avoiding pain, you will agree with me that the happiness thus secured will be more perfect.
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D: Certainly, but what is that third method?
HH: It is only this. Merely cease to submit yourself to that antecedent trouble.
D: How can we do that?
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HH: It is only this. Merely cease to submit yourself to that antecedent trouble.
D: How can we do that?
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HH: Man is and remains healthy when he refuses to submit himself to anything which may cause sickness. Is it not so?
D: Yes.
HH: Similarly, man can be happy by refusing to submit himself to anything which may disturb his mental equilibrium and make him unhappy.
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D: Yes.
HH: Similarly, man can be happy by refusing to submit himself to anything which may disturb his mental equilibrium and make him unhappy.
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It is only an application of the maxim that prevention is better than cure. For calling yourself clean, it is not necessary that you dip your hands in mire and then wash it off.
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D: I now understand that the happiness which results
from attraction or repulsion is not real happiness. Real happiness is only that which is the concomitant of mental equipoise unrelated to any attraction or repulsion.
HH: Quite so.
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from attraction or repulsion is not real happiness. Real happiness is only that which is the concomitant of mental equipoise unrelated to any attraction or repulsion.
HH: Quite so.
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D: But, how can we acquire and retain such a mental equipoise in the midst of this vast universe of things which either attract or repel?
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HH: Anyhow, this is certainly a more practical method than the one of trying to exhaust the inexhaustible store of things, desirable and undesirable.
D: This method may be foolish but the other does not seem to be practical.
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D: This method may be foolish but the other does not seem to be practical.
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HH: Why not? Suppose you have about twenty articles in your room every one of which is likely to distract you by its very sight. Which is the more practical method, to prepare cases for enveloping every one of them or to shut your eyes?
D: Certainly, the latter is easier.
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D: Certainly, the latter is easier.
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HH: Similarly, it is impossible for you to regulate, modify, annihilate or create at your pleasure the infinite things of the universe which are likely to disturb you. But you can so regulate your own mind that it may gradually cease to be disturbed by them.
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This is quite within your competence. Your forefathers were happy, not because they had more objects of pleasure or less causes of trouble, but because they were able to retain their mental equilibrium, which gave them rest, peace and contentment and, therefore, happiness.
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They did not depend upon outside things to make them happy, nor did they concede to outside things the capacity to make them unhappy.
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Their feeling of rest and peace, contentment and happiness, was normal, natural and healthy and, therefore, lasting. You must also cultivate that feeling if you want
to be happy.
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to be happy.
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Such a feeling is born and ingrained in the Brahmana especially, and if he neglects it and seeks happiness in the outside world, he is seriously impairing his chances of getting it again in the next birth,
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for God will be quite justified in withholding a gift which the donee does not appreciate at its proper value when he has it with him.
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Never let go your birthright or svabhava of contentment and never give the go-by to your sva-dharma or duty. Everything will right itself in due course. Make honest and sincere attempt to regain and retain your brahmaniam in the firm faith that God is ever with you to help you.
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D: We shall try our best, but these happen to be very bad days for the Brahmanas.
HH: When did the bad days begin? You must bear that also in your mind.
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HH: When did the bad days begin? You must bear that also in your mind.
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They began when the Brahmanas swerved from their achara and Dharma and entered the field of competition in the pursuit of worldly things.
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They forgot that they were most ungratefully misusing the heritage of ages. The others, who were left behind the Brahmanas in this race, first looked upon them with admiration and later on with envy and now with hatred.
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Let the Brahmanas withdraw from this race they will once again regain and command the respect which is their due. They commanded respect before,
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not because they were richer or stronger than others, but because of their contentment, which made them happier than the richest and because of their Dharma, which made them stronger than the strongest.
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The so-called bad days are therefore only of our own making. We can at any moment put an end to them, so far as every one of us is concerned, by reverting to the simple faith and the upright conduct, the religious fervour and the peaceful contentment of our fathers.
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I think that the bad days will turn out to be really useful and not after all bad, if they but make the Brahmanas realise the depth of their fall from their true ideal and induce them to make honest endeavour to recover it.
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Source: Dialogues with The Guru compiled by R.Krishnaswami Iyer
End of thread. Got triggered by some tweets on quality of life.
End of thread. Got triggered by some tweets on quality of life.
