Materialism is all about having
an excessive desire (read greed) for money and possessions. It is said that
today’s society is materialistic, but then, when it wasn’t? Every era—be it
relates to the time when possessing a car was a luxury or, the time when
flashing a mobile phone was purely a privilege of super-rich—had something to
offer, an enjoyment of which was beyond the imagination of many of us. But as
time went by, most of us were able to own and use such possessions—all because
of our desire, hard work and perseverance.
Although the basic tenet of materialism
remains same everywhere, its meaning cannot be restrained to a few words.
Different people, depending upon their ideologies, observations and social
upbringing, may perceive it differently. For instance, some parents may
perceive giving of pocket money to their children from an early age as a means
to propagate the sense of materialism into them, and hence may altogether
deprive them of this privilege. On the other hand, others may start giving
pocket money to their kids from an early age in order to hold their attention
and educate them about money while their mind is still free from any kind of
external conditioning.
Possessing more than what is
required is being materialistic, and requirements differ from people to people.
A common man may do well with one house, but the same scenario may not apply to
a famed actor who may have a long list of guests visiting him on a daily
basis.
One serious question which needs
a mention here is, “Can one relieve himself of his worldly duties if he has
succeeded in gaining sufficient means for his survival?” The answer is no,
because had this been the case, all of us had, at one point or the other,
stopped working and become functionally redundant. In this way we would have
deprived our upcoming generations of our experiences and achievements, and
might also have failed to inspire them to strive, excel and achieve more in
their lives.
Acquiring possessions and
spending money is a vital source of meaning and happiness in our time. But as
has been said, excess of everything is
bad, excessive greed often becomes the source of our unhappiness. In fact,
unnecessary greed and longing for one thing after another has been the prime
cause behind our unhappiness. It is our never ending greed only which makes our
happiness quotient change every time. Our greed reinforces our false belief
that happiness is just a ‘thing’ away, which we never arrive at. And even if we
somehow manage to arrive at it, we replace it with something other every time,
thus finding ourselves trapped forever into the vicious cycle of greed.
Is materialism per se wrong?
Materialism per se is not
wrong, after all it encourages us to better ourselves and reap the benefits
that modern society has for us to offer. But at the same time, we should be
watchful of our weakness for materialistic things, for we might be unknowingly
breeding the seeds of greed inside us. Remember, more is not always the better,
but knowing that we have enough is. Control your greed and you will be in true
control of your life.
The End
