Come out of Money-wheel, Go into Loving-wheel.

For a happy life -
'Come out of Money-wheel, Go into Loving-wheel'

Economic Worth of an Individual

Key to progress in quality of life and development of human civilization is economy for which probably each of us works through personal income to family income to national economy, and finally to economy of the whole humanity. Though direct worth of a human-being can't be based on his/her economic status, no worth survives without economic well-being.

Economy means basically keeping balance in income and expenditure. Each family unit of today has most often a single source of income but with many ways of expenditure. Important expenditure heads may be enlisted as food and health, clothing and housing, and education and entertainment with their ideal average share of 50 : 30 : 20. Mismanagement of human affairs has added one more head of economic exploitation through Aristocratic politics and faked Divine terrorism. Exhibitionist tendency of humans has further distorted how people spend their earnings. Average human-being are forced to provide, directly or indirectly, about 30 percent of their incomes to political and religious head. This has distorted the average share of human expenditure heads to about 20 : 30 : 20 : 30 for food and health, clothing and housing, education and entertainment, and charities and taxation, respectively. Each of these heads counts in progress and development of individual to humanity levels.  

This distortion in expenditure heads has adversely affected humanity with cost of increment in crimes and blockade of civilization advancement. The results are noticeable needing no keen eyes.

Politicians, administrators and religious preachers make the richest class of people with probably no or minimal productive work while hard-working humanity under their control has been struggling for survival.  

Mismanagement of economic affairs is the worst in public domain accounts of governance and religions leading to economic and social corrupt practices as premium business of humanity.

About 70 percent of humans on global level suffer from one or more of chronic diseases. This suffering goes to about 90 percent in many nations of the World.

Crimes have been on the rise continuously since recorded history of humanity leading to more miseries of average humanity. Moral values in humanity haven vanishing.

Commercial considerations have penetrated to matters like health, education, justice, etc which need be covered under public welfare for overall development of human civilization.

Economic Classification of People

From Economics point of view, there are broadly three ways people live by by their own will or under compulsions.

Lavish Living

This lifestyle aims at spending lavishly principally for three reasons -

To seek comforts, luxuries and conveniences,

To seek high status in society, and

To cover up for sense of insecurity

For adopting this lifestyle, the persons are required to earn enough to make their two ends meet for which they keep no consideration of right or wrong practices of earning money. Most of the persons of this lifestyle keep too busy in maintaining their economy that they find no time for enjoying life through family and social relationships, entertainment and recreation, and most importantly through paying attention to keeping good health. Therefore, this lifestyle makes the person more and more miserable as they often age with three types of problems -

Health : Most of the lavish spenders develop vices, particularly of womanizing and alcoholism, which reflect on their respective health. The health problems raise their heads as the persons advance in age. Since such persons do little physical work, resilience of their bodies is often low making them more prone to attack by diseases. 

Exploitation : Lavish spenders try to purchase everything, they need even rarely, at whatever price. All such price tags have high margins for manufacturers and traders, leading to their high level of exploitation. When such persons are young, their earnings are high and they don't bother for such exploitations. But with advancement in age, their earning power dwindles with corresponding increment in their worries about the exploitations. Moreover, for keeping their social status high they are expected to contribute more for social purposes. This also enhances their exploitation, hence the worries.

For their involvement in illicit activities for more and more income, people of this class try to compensate them psychologically through charitable acts with reliance on godly and religious exhibitionists, making them super-rich with no productive work by themselves.   

Economical Living

 As far as economy and quality of life are concerned, middle class people with limited earning out of their hard work serve their purposes of life in optimum ways with care about what they get from market for the prices they pay. Some of these people try to appear like the lavish spenders in their possessions with shopping cheaper things from the market for their low incomes with the result of accumulating third-grade materials in their homes and worries of maintenance of these. In the process, they get exploited. Another section of this class tries to keep a balance in quality and prices of materials they shop, hence bargain with selection of the best options within their limits of affordability.

Just Surviving

A third group in the humanity with limited resources and means of living under their command keeps on struggling for survival within their poor incomes. Most often, they rely on inferior products hence suffer with poor health. Even good quality of medical treatment remains out of bounds for these people. They have no entertainment means except having sexual pleasures, hence produce large families to feed. This makes them more poor, sick and problematic. Life expectancy and education remain the lowest in these people.   

Psychological challenges to one's Economy

First, there are necessities, then, we create needs for conveniences and then we have wants for progress, comforts and luxuries depending on how we perceive our needs and wants. For all these things we focus on getting money. But we rarely seek happiness through contentment of or satisfaction from what we already have or even set a limit for what would be enough. Thus the craving for more of wealth goes on, but there are exceptions to this. These exceptions are not for the reason that they don't have necessities, needs or wants but for the reason that they have barriers in getting inflow of money by all means for their self-imposed moral discipline, unlike common people generally do.

Here, I would focus on why persons deny getting rich through self-control for their own psychological barriers of morality and ethics. 

Crimes and Corruption

Government and employees and those of some large private organizations often involve in corrupt practices for monetary gains through misusing their official powers. Some mighty persons crush weaker persons for monetary gains. Some others involve in thefts and other crimes for such gains. Such persons and groups thereof economically thrive through anti-social activities, still there are a few who won't involve in any of such activities even if they have opportunities and living in poverty. This bar on the self is imposed for keeping up their moral values and conscientiousness. Thus, moral values etc become another block of economic prosperity.

Habitual Pleasure Seeking

Fermentation was originally devised for curing skin ailments. Later, people found that the fermented beverages have intoxicating effects which provides a sort of unusual pleasure to the drinker. With this concept in progress, fermented drinks have become sources of intoxication, hence, pleasures ruining economy of a huge number of persons on the globe becoming habitual of intoxication. Then, people devised many other ways of intoxication which dipped more persons into intoxication and economic wreckage.

Similarly, many other bad habits of seeking pleasure, such as going to prostitutes for sexual pleasures, etc ruin economy of a great number of persons who don't consider consequences of such short-term pleasures.  

Fatalists

Indian society was taught by a poet named malook Das in the following words -

iaNh djs u pkdjh] ikgqu djs uk dkeA nkl eywdk dg x;s lcds nkrk jkeAA

This means that birds etc don't work still survive. So the poet's advice is that the God looks after all. Hence, no need to work. Though all people might not have read the advice, but most of the religious-oriented persons believe in working of fate that pre-decides future of everyone. With this concept in mind, such persons keep on looking for comforts and conveniences of life without working hard for these. This keeps the poor people poor forever. 

Gambling is a game in which a bidder is promised a bounty against investment of a small amount of money, provided his/her fate is favourable. With this hope, the gamblers keep on putting at stake whatever they have and lose everything they had, thus ruining themselves.

Charities and Donations

I like to go on my pleasure or research tours like a hermit with minimum luggage, mostly a few books, notebook, pen, pencil, some dry foods like roasted grams, a mat, a sheet of cloth, and one spare dress etc all kept in a shoulder bag. Hairs on my head are generally long and many times, my beard, too, grow long for no-shaving on the way. If the place I visit is a pilgrimage, people mistake me for a beggar like many others on such places, and donate things to me without my asking. In such a case, firstly I refuse to accept but if I fail to convince the donor, I handover the materials so received to somebody else needing or looking for such things. My consideration on this is that I don't live on charities but depend on my work only.

Once, after a free meal at a religious place in high mountains (called Bhandara in India), I began washing used utensils there to work for the food I had taken. The organizers of the Bhandara requested me not to do that but I didn't relent. Later, a person came to me and told me that I was snatching means of his livelihood there by washing the utensils which was the work assigned to him. I got his point and stopped the work. After that I refuse to accept free meals in such Bhandaras.

So many of us have such inhibitions in their minds which put them in trouble or inconveniences of economy at odd places, while many others with no such inhibitions and making such things as means of their livelihoods enjoy riches after some begging.  Here I would be dealing with such inhibitions affecting one's economy.

The most powerful community of India at all times is habitual of living on charities and donations without any hitch through generations, while many other communities and persons hate living on such aids from others. The governments often promote in poor people living on their aids, and most of the persons are eager to listed as poor to get the benefits. Still, there are some who are averse to such assistances for keeping up their social status and self-esteem. Thus, consideration of self-esteem in getting something for others is the first challenge to economy of some persons.

Charities, donations and welfare schemes work as deterrent to one's economy in reverse way too. People dependent on these don't like to work hard for survival or progress thinking that they will get something from others for survival. Thus, these social parasites block their own way of hard-working for progress.  

Status Complex

Most of the persons don't like to do mean jobs like sweeping, domestic help, etc for their consciousness of their social status thinking what others in their society would think of them. Some such persons go far from their native places for taking up such petty jobs without telling the truth to their close social contacts. In both of these practices, persons' economies are adversely affected.

Persons in India celebrate marriages and even death of veterans of their families through feasting others to keep their social status high in others' eyes, even after borrowing money for such celebrations. Thus, status complex is another block on economic progress.

Some persons involve themselves in charitable activities just for being appreciated by others though their personal economy may not afford a charitable act. They just compete or imitate those who can afford, and thus ruin their economies.

Perfectionism

Many persons choose to do their jobs perfectly even losing sight of practicability or economics of the task performance. In the process, they ruin their economy. Although doing a job perfectly is not a bad idea in itself, but all aspects of a performance must be looked into during execution. All tasks don't need perfection for economic and many other reasons. Not only this, even in a task needing near-perfection, some components may not be as important as others, and the performer must pay his/her attention in accordance to the importance of different components of the task.  

Economically Worthy Human

Money serves very important purpose of happy survival of an individual. But if a person goes beyond psychological barriers to economy outlined above, a small quantity of regular income proves sufficient in providing happiness of living. Important points in this regard are worth mentioning here.

Properly selected food items, and their quantities and quality can keep a person healthy with longevity and resilience needing no medical services.

Adequate protection from climatic extremities through clothing and shelter is a necessity of modern human life. Due to current scientific knowledge of humanity, these facilities may be so designed so as to become no economic burden. For example, a home may provide all the necessary comforts of life without provisions of artificial illumination and temperature control.

After informal education from parents, children need formal institutionalized education which contributes to national worth, hence need be freely and uniformly arranged by the government from public taxation. This would improve on national worth without burdening individuals economically.

With cultivation and promotion of social discipline in society, all defense, crime control and justice machinery of the government may become redundant or reduced to minimal. This would lead to a society free from exploitation improving upon economy of every individual.

Religious faith must be limited to individual life, hence its public display must be prohibited. This would save people from psychological and economic exploitation by religious preachers.

Involvement of government in individual's life must be limited to management of common resources, with minimal taxation on people saving them from working for serving lavish politicians and administrators.    

Above-said are hypothetical provisions which are beyond materialization in near future, hence should not be waited for by individuals for leading a happy life. But every individual must review his/her own lifestyle to remold it closest to the ideal situation in light of the above-said clauses, and make him/herself happier and a worthy human-being.

Having Progressive Psyche with Pleasure of Contentment

There are two philosophies of leading one's life. One says that a person must work for progress and on this path there is no need for him/her to stop. Currency coins of this philosophy are words like 'competition', 'dynamism', 'advancement', etc. Henceforth, we would be calling this way 'progressive philosophy'. Another lifestyle philosophy advocates developing a feeling of satisfaction with what has been achieved to enjoy life. Although, this seems to be the objective life is meant for, it is opposed by progressive philosophers on grounds of developing complacency, hence is counter-productive. We term this 'contentment philosophy'.

The contentment philosophy has been the hallmark of religious and spiritual preachers throughout human history, but for others only. They themselves have been found involved in amassing unlimited wealth, authority, luxuries, etc for themselves through doing business of virtual commodity of God. Although, these exhibitionist preachers seem to have massive following in common innocent people but none of the followers follows what is preached to him/her in his/her practices of real life. Hence, for the followers being faked like the preachers themselves, we keep them out of our preview through this discussion. Even then, the contentment philosophy doesn't lose its luster of bringing happiness to human faces.

In practice, we enjoy water when thirsty, rush to grab a meal when hungry, we stop taking these after our needs of these are satisfied, and feel contented. This doesn't mean that we would never again enjoy taking water, or rush for a meal. This is where and how the contentment philosophy is pursued by everyone even without any preacher or even being aware that we follow a philosophy day-in and day-out. We need no exhibitionism for it, it is purely instinctive in all forms of life. Even with this universal pursuance of contentment philosophy, we are not rejecting the progressive philosophy for its immense contribution to progress and development of human civilization.

Two above-said philosophies may be graphically depicted as shown below.

 

Two Philosophies of Life

From the above discussion, it appears that the two philosophies have their exclusive fields of application in human life, and these can't be mixed up. These two exclusive fields of life may be named as 'home' and 'work' using contentment philosophy and progressive philosophy, respectively. This is what I propose to counter here. Two philosophies may be made complementary to each other with accrued benefits of both for every individual.

Pause in between to Enjoy

The third philosophy as hybrid of the two outlined above is to have pauses in between progress efforts to enjoy gains of the progress already made. I would like to name this philosophy of life as 'Propause Philosophy', depicted in the diagram below.

Propause Philosophy of Life

Specific steps of pursuing this philosophy are -

Plan for making progress efforts with a fixed short-term and conveniently achievable target for reaching in the step,

Pause on reaching the target, review the progress made and enjoy until you feel rejuvenated for the next bout of efforts,

Plan for the next step of efforts with another specific target for achieving,

Continue the process of efforts and pauses mutually sandwiched, … …

With pursuance of this philosophy, it appears that time of pause goes waste during which some more progress would have been made, which is not the case in reality for three solid reasons. Firstly, the wholesome purpose of life, efforts, progress and achievements is to find happiness. Unless you have it through pauses, whole process of living remains a waste. Secondly, each pause rejuvenates the person to make efforts with higher efficiency for getting better results with lesser efforts, the the rate of progress at each step is enhanced, adequately compensating for the loss of time during the pause. Thirdly, every pause provides an opportunity for reviewing the past efforts and results thereof suggesting what might have gone wrong as a lesson for the future steps. This further improves performance. 

Process of Ageing

Time stamps a lasting impression of everyone's body and mind. In the first quarter of century, both grow and get enriched. Second quarter of century witnesses slower rate of growth of body coupled with higher rate of growth of mind. Third body growth is stagnated but growth of mind continues with enhanced rate. Fourth quarter of century finds the body maintaining status quo and the mind continuing to grow.

Ageing Process

Ideally speaking, the process continues and may cover a few centuries until the body begins to decay reaching the terminal stage some day as depicted above. It all depends on how an individual maintains his body and mind in healthy and active state with key being discipline in all aspects of life with rejuvenation in between through pauses as stated above. Human experience of Vaidic Era informs us human lifespan may go up to about 500 years.  

Considerations for Age Factor

With age of a person going above 50, steps of efforts and target need be designed with consideration of ageing on the body and mind. Firstly, the person must engage him/herself in more of intellectual activities coupled with reduction in physical exertions. Secondly, the steps of efforts and targets must be gradually reduced with aim at enjoying life, rather than destroying it with hard work.