One of the
things I have dreaded since my childhood, was the fear of being poor and not
able to make ends meet. As a 6th grade kid, I walked through the streets
of Hindu Colony, Dadar observing the people live under the Tilak bridge
Families, Kids..Their assets inside Steel trunks. They were occupied in their
activities..Cooking food or dividing acquired stale food. Kids playing along
the roadside footpath rolling and beating cycle rims. The poverty did not shock
me. What concerned me was their indifferent attitude and acceptance to a daily
life of nothingness. It made me wonder that if these were given work, would
they work at all for a pay? Would there be people who were beggars willing to
work, but the current fate is only due to no jobs.
I concluded
that the reason for my fear was not Poverty. It was the fear of getting stuck
in such a situation in which I have no ambition to do work or I am ostracized by society as not good enough and fated
to earn on the roadside. Would the mind collapse, in a nutshell. Fear of
Insanity or feeble mind.
The
vacation in Mumbai was the beginning. It exposed me to circumstances that I had
never seen before in my life. As I entered the building to go to the Yoga
Class, I saw this small room again.
The man had
used the vacant portion under the stairs to make a small room for himself. He
could barely sleep inside (with folded legs). He seemed to be a watchman of the
building.
I
remembered a late night when my parents were late from a party and I had no key
to our house. I had slept under the main stairs of the apartment in a cold
night. When I was solitary, I had no airs about myself. It was simple. I rested,
when I needed. A bed / A blanket was a comfort.
A personal
experience under the stairs made me aware of the world and mindset of this man who
was ok to live there for his entire life.
I thought, “I
need to earn enough to be barely comfortable. My thought included the following
assets.
1 room for
family of 4 to live (We had lived in just 2 rooms at Delhi , so 1 was bare
minimum)
Fuel for
food
Dal –
Chawal/Roti little oil/ Mustard/Basic spices/ Garlic/
1Vegetable
once a day
Chatai/
Chadar
Again..These
are my views as a 6th grade student to survive. The biases were set
by my surroundings.
The
situation has not changed even today. We have larger slums. People still live
in Empty Pipes.
I was fortunate
to have moved up the ladder and can afford a 3BHK. A luxury beyond what I
dreamed as bare minimal at 6th grade. My fear is still at the back
of my mind but my wish list that causes this fear has increased, to what I
would have felt “Luxurious” in my 6th grade. There are peers who
would go on a Foreign country tour in Summer vacation. I would probably do this
at the right time.
The right
time or such an “exotic” location worth the expense is yet to come.
I lived in
different circumstances have adapted / “Acclimatized” to society around me.
‘I ‘ am not
“accommodative” to basic needs of life. I do not have a handle on my expenses. So
I fear and I strive to earn more.The fear
always rules.
Every salary band has set of incompetent people when there are
more industrious people to do the job at fraction of the cost.
My
colleagues in a 3rd world country Fear that they have sufficient
gap with lower economic class that they may face the same as their USA buddies
in few years.
This is
still a lesser fear as their skillset gets redundant with time, and there is
demand of “Real” work in a trade that demands more physical labor and
craftsmanship to serve a “Foreign” investment.
The above is probably what sets me on thinking as a minimalist. It is said that people start minimalist thinking because things are not too rosy in future. I thinks its the right idea for every prospering person as well.
It was
important for me to connect with circumstances to understand, the thought
process of people living in “filth”. To unlearn, that “filth”, as it appears to
me, is because I never got my hands dirty or that; I was blessed with good upbringing and decent tools
to live. I may want to live in a pipe and experience what my mind goes through
that day.
No matter
what you earn, you will always feel the need for more and more. Crib for more.
Earn what
is bare minimum required for the job. Stay lean and work hard. (Lean also means
less resources). This “sustains” longer.
You must “know”
what it feels to live as a pauper. (Hope
for best/ Prepare for the worst.) Unless
you are less resourced, you will not be in a situation to think beyond limits.
Eg. Israel
has less land/ less water, but they are good at yielding maximum crops.
For Jobs
that Demand physical labor, try to do it yourself.
Can I do
it? No. It’s painful. I wrecked the gadget more. Engage a craftsman. (Now did
you realize the value? Do you feel this person should be paid better. Hand him
a gracious tip.)
If you
can do it yourself, that’s the best policy.
You mastered another art! Saved money and you
are independent. The best part. Due to your involvement you will have some
respect for the trade.
I will end by few sayings from The Buddha few are relevant to above thought:
Since future lives last for a very long time, gather up riches to provide for the future.
You will have to depart leaving everything behind, so do not be attached to anything.
Generate compassion for lowly beings, and especially avoid despising or humiliating them.
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