The enclosed article has been authored by a Spiritual Bee’er who wishes to remain anonymous.
In March 2020, my friend along with his children made a two-day visit to a 5-star hotel and the children thoroughly enjoyed the luxury, food, and other facilities there.
After 2 years there was an occasion when his elder daughter had to go to an Ashram for a week. On the way to the Ashram, a half-day stay was made at a 3-star hotel. She was thoroughly disappointed as the hotel was far below the standards of a 5-star hotel and thus far below her expectations too.
At the Ashram however, she was quite normal despite the availability of only the bare minimum of facilities. There was neither a separate room, nor a cot, nor common toilets – although all facilities were neat and clean. Yet the young lady had no complaints!
When questioned, she thoughtfully remarked that the reason why she was not disappointed at the Ashram was because its facilities were as per her expectations. Since it was an Ashram she naturally expected less from it. The 3-star hotel, though far better than the Ashram in terms of comfort, nevertheless, disappointed her, because she expected more from it.
This young lady teaches us an important lesson, which is that in order to be content in life we must nurture minimal expectations. This in turn means that we must lead a simple life.
4 Reasons Why We Should Lead a Simple Life
1. For One’s Own Peace
When the reality is less than expected, then there is a loss of peace. Therefore, it is important to have the least expectations from life, as we do not know where it shall take us. The world is fast-changing and hyper-dynamic. Life is unpredictable, with many twists and turns. It can lead us down unforeseen paths, at any time.
The human mind is such that it always aspires for ‘more’. No matter how much money/fame/wealth/comforts we gather, they seem insufficient. If a person suddenly got a billion dollars he would still be discontent. His mind will continue to crave for even more wealth without end.
This continuous craving for a lavish lifestyle, makes a simple life, highly complicated. We known that desire is the engine that drives all economic activity. Yet it is the same desire that is the root cause of pain and suffering!
2. Opportunity
The degree to which a person succeeds in life, is to a large extent determined by the opportunities they receive. Suppose a person belonging to a middle-class family, had been the son of a rikshaw puller? Or he had been born in a remote village with poor education facilities? Or his parents did not encourage education? Suppose he had been born in a schedule caste/tribal home? Would he have risen to where we are today? The answer is an emphatic no. (There may be exceptions.)
No doubt our intelligence, hard work and aptitude all contributed to where we are today. Still there exist, numerous people in the world, who possess the same level of intelligence and aptitude as us, yet they could not reach the same heights as us. The sole difference being deprivation of opportunity. We got the opportunity, while they did not.
Hence, giving back to society is our sacred duty, and not an act of charity. Giving back is possible only if we do not live an extravagant lifestyle.
3. Quality of Giving
Millions of people around the world are not able to make ends meet. Many do not have the comforts and luxuries we deem ‘essential’ in our lives.
Should we then remain oblivious to the sufferings of people around us? Is it not a sin? A sensitivity to others’ plight must be cultivated, else, the divine quality of compassion & empathy shall be lost.
Lopsided economic growth cannot sustain for long, and eventually there will be social upheaval and revolution.
4. Environmental Pollution
Today, the world is grappling with severe environmental pollution. Added to this, it is being suggested that the soil too is gradually losing its capacity to give nutritious food.
The entire reason for all this is mindless consumerism. People consume things irrespective of whether they need them or not. Every penny expended by us is impacting the environment. Every comfort/luxury we enjoy is only by plundering nature.
Self-control at the individual level is required while consuming things; otherwise, we will only hand over debris to the next generation.
Mankind lived on earth without industrialization for more than 4500 years (out of the recorded history of 5000 years). 300 years ago, basic things like watches, and cycles weren’t there. Yet, man lived much more peacefully than in current times.
A 300-year cycle of industrialization has created havoc for nature. In the entire 5000 years of recorded human history, the environment has never been damaged as it has been now.
Carbon emissions have been increasing decade after decade. If we look at per capita emissions, the difference between developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations are stark. This shows that the greater the consumption, the more is the damage to nature.
It may be argued that by going green we can overcome the climate change problem. But, this is only a myth. Going green should go hand in hand with moderation of human consumption and greed. And recent studies suggest that going green also comes with its own impact on the climate.
Unless men increase in wisdom as much in knowledge, an increase in knowledge will lead to an increase of sorrow – Bertrand Russell.
So, we must think before spending a penny for any additional comfort or luxury.
