When scarcity and deprivation hurt

Business & Economy, 2007

Creativity and Talent can only surface when the nation prospers

Fundamentally, the core purpose of our lives is to be of service to others. Anything which allows us to move in that direction or facilitates this process, is in line with the forces of nature. Such alignment creates achievement of purposes in flow and resonance with nature, in a manner where effort is ‘effortless’. Anything not on line with the flow of nature, takes in an amount of effort, which is first used up in neutralizing the resistance due to it being against the very flow itself. This leads to an efficiency loss and only the balance goes towards fulfilling the core purpose. So either a lot more effort/energy is needed or the effort falls short of the core purpose. We need facilitators to lubricate the flow of effort in a natural manner. Resistors needs to be taken out & if then, there is enough resonance, there are catalysts which speeden up the process.

Economic Independence is also a means to allow human beings to fulfill the core purpose of being able to serve & love others. It maybe be looked at, at two levels 1) To be able to take independent decisions, to be able to make a choice & 2) That there is no/less ‘dependence’ on someone else & more self dependence. The first one got out of the way for us in 1947, after centuries of ‘not even being able to exercise a choice’. At the macro level, we gained Independence and could now ‘decide/make a choice’ ourselves. The second part of ‘no/less dependence on someone else & more self dependence’, however, still kept eluding us, both as a nation & as individuals, for many more decades. ‘Interdependence’, the very nature of everything in The Cosmos, will, should & has to stay  & maybe one day, to be looked at as another dimension worth considering ….. The Cosmic Dance continues!!

It is said ‘The Right Thing’ done ‘The Right Way’ starts showing ‘Good’ Results. Each of these terms ‘Right’ & ‘Good’ are subjective and contextual. However, predecided  indices/measures of desired ‘Result Areas’ should then bring in some amount of objectivity. It seems that after almost half a century of having obtained the power to exercise choice, we hit on the Right Things/Ways atleast to start moving the needle on a predecided parameter of desired ‘Results’ in the form of GDP growth & that is very creditable to my mind, also leading to the second point above, of ‘No/less’ Dependence on someone else & more self dependence !!

The above discussion remains in the realm of Economic Wealth & captures Material Wealth creation or Independence in being able to make a choice in this area or to be not/less dependant or more self dependant in this area. If those be the predecided ‘Result Areas’, so be it & the measures thereof are fine. However, Total Wealth comprises Physical (Health, Wellness, Body) & Spiritual (Mind, Soul, Values) Wealth. If these are what we need to look at as included in ‘Result Areas’ then measurement indices need to be revisited. Economic Independence should allow a flowering of a society where Total Wealth is created. It is true that scarcity & deprivation do not allow this to happen. Maslow’s need hierarchy comes out & does a  Rudra Tandava in the open. Personal needs of food, clothing, housing, security have to be met before anyone starts looking at the core purpose of human existence to serve & love others. In any case, charity begins at home. Once out of this cycle, made possible by Economic Independence/Wealth, can human beings & society move up Maslow’s hierarchy & create an environment where there is Ananda Tandava of ‘Celebration/Joy of Life’ !! It allows flourishing of Creativity, Art & Literature. It allows ethics and values a chance to stay alive and not to be throttled, though always unjustifiable, by the pains of an empty stomach and a naked body. The energy sucking black holes of hatred, anger, terrorism etc. should drown and disappear.

In the days of deprivation & scarcity, one was told to study hard & become an engineer, doctor or CA. Many a dream & aspiration were delivered still born . . . . . Choice, when you are no longer living in scarcity & deprivation & when you have a vibrant economy offering multiple opportunities, allows creativity to flourish in such a society. Dreams & Aspirations take flight & soar high!! Creativity acts like a catalyst. All these further lubricate the entire process of existence in harmony with nature adding momentum as we go along and facilitating the purpose of ‘Serving & Loving Others’!!

J.P.Singh

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