First of all, I understand your blog post, and I agree with the main idea of it; yes, people generally want more of something they like after they first get it. I agree that this is a part of human nature in a general sense, and that we see many examples of this in society. With that said, I completely disagree that this need for more is just a part of human nature, and that there is nothing that a human can do about it. Money is a great example of the need for more that you bring up. The majority of people want to have money, and once they get a certain amount, they usually have the need for more. You are correct when you outline the fact that the need for money and other related things will never satisfy a person, but I think that you make the mistake of believing that all we can do is accept the idea that nothing will ever fulfill us, and therefore we mine as well attempt to get more money.
I think I am right when I say that there are things in life that can actually fulfill us; things that will give us the feeling that no amount of money or fame could ever come close to achieving. This idea relates to the Hindu idea of the human condition. Hindu’s believe that humans have a strong desire for cravings, such as money, which will never fully be satisfied. Even though your blog post agrees with this basic idea, I think that other Hindu ideas could be beneficial for you. Using Hindu principles, it seems to me that you are making a mistake by believing that your ego is your true identity. The idea that you are addicted to money is the perfect example of this. I think that the desire for money is fine because money is great, but thinking that money is going to fill your need for happiness or some other need is very problematic.
Continuing with Hindu ideas, it seems that you and anyone else who believes that money will fulfill them would be suffering from the “Identity Problem”. Money only will fulfill people’s egos, or their false identities. According to the Hindu ideas of human nature, we all have a real self, which is at a deeper than our conscious self. While I do not agree with everything that Hindu’s believe, I agree with the idea that we have a false idea of who we are, and I feel that this applies to the need for more. I think that all of the problems in peoples lives relates to the idea that people tend to make the mistake of believing that they are their ego. I think that we can combat this problem by living in the present moment whenever we can. Leading back to my earlier statement that there are things that can actually fulfill us, I would say that the only things that actually can fulfill us are things that do not relate to our ego.
Making a difference in someone else’s life is a great example of something that can fulfill a person. This type of activity brings someone in touch with their deeper self because it brings them in touch with the world around them; what I mean by this is that an activity like this causes a person to realize that everything around them, including themselves, is a part of God. Even though I use the word God, I think that you could call this deeper sense of unity any other word; it does not have to be called God. With that said, the important thing to realize is that after performing this type of service, the person will be in touch with their true identity, as long as they did not perform the activity to help their ego.
As I said in class the other day, I think that as long as people attempt to live in the present moment, and silence their ego, then I think it is okay to want money. Wanting money only becomes problematic when a person starts to believe that wanting money is truly part of who we are. The constant need for money and other similar things is not part of the real identities off humans. I think that the real identity of humans is a deeper state that some call enlightenment. Even though few will ever reach enlightenment, I think that is important for people to understand the benefits of realizing that their ego is not their true identity. As long as person has a balance between wanting things like money, and having the understanding of a deeper self, then I think everything will work out great for them.
Do you think it is problematic that the desire for money is so great in today’s world?
No comments:
Post a Comment