Standard of Living : Myth or Reality

P.S.Sundaram

Mr.P.S.Sundaram is a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna from Chennai.

The reason that we Indians are still living, in spite of so much misery, distress, poverty and oppression from within and without is that we have a national ideal which is yet necessary for the preservation of the world--said Swami Vivekananda. No economist or political thinker analysed the causes of poverty and distress of common people as thoroughly as Swamiji did.

The general impression is that our standard of living is poor. A high standard of life is judged by possession of goods beyond one's need but not from the culture of the people and the level of their spiritual awareness.

Wages are determined by assessment of basic needs. The Report of the Committee on Fair Wages (1958) observed: 'The Living Wage represents a standard of living which provides not merely for a bare physical sustenance but for the maintenance of health and decency, a measure of frugal comfort and some insurance against the more important misfortunes.' Experience shows that neither 'living wages' nor even luxurious wages ensure harmony in life, the factor that should ideally be the index to determinestandards. A society cannot claim to have a good standard of living if, instead of harmony, unhealthy competition, intolerance and violence prevail.

Judging by a premium on affluence, we devalue our standard. Children and adults are exposed to unnatural life styles and are hard pressed for leisure and healthy means of entertainment. It is well known that in affluent societies, increased consumption causes indebtedness of consumers who plunge into borrowing. When artificially created life styles are not sustained, happiness and peace become the casualty. Faced with a widening chasm between wealth and peace, many seek the solace of religion.

The House of Tatas was perhaps the pioneer in visualizing the need for spiritual support as a significant component in their welfare measures. Swamiji had already made a lasting impression on Tatas. The company's industrial complex in Jamshedpur set high standards in welfare schemes; their philosophy was to foresee workers' needs rather than be forced by demands. In the early twentieth century, Jamshedji Tata designed streets with shady trees with plenty of space for lawns and playgrounds and more importantly, place for temples, mosques and churches.

A standard of life is neither constant nor uniform. It varies between countries and even in the same country, from time to time. A survey in the USA showed that if people were willing to accept the standard of life which prevailed some twenty or thirty years ago, they need exert themselves only a day in a week, thanks to the development of technology. But the tendency is to work hard, earn more wealth, although some may tend to seek more leisure. Swamiji pointed out that, if those 'whose God is money and whose goal of life is a life of ease and comfort in this world... and who rarely think of anything higher than the sense objects... go to India, they will see only poverty, squalor, superstition...' (CW., Vol.4, p.156). He further asserted that those who believe in sense-related happiness cannot claim that their standard must be the benchmark; he called it '... a standard that preaches mere bread and money and clothes as God' (CW., Vol.4, p. 209). These are significant points which must be ingrained in the young generation.

A former President of the USA, Roosevelt, said, 'We cannot prepare the future for the next generation; all we can do is to prepare our next generation for the future.' Attention should therefore be on the right type of education. An assessment must be made to see whether the current curriculum imparts primacy to inculcation of values, ethics, culture, fine arts--in short, to promote enlightened citizenship. Domestic economy should ideally be taught at school level and not reserved for post graduate study. The system of education should focus on inspiration for the students. We are not wanting in this treasure. The wealth of wisdom contained in Swamiji's writings and speeches will inspire them as no other subject. Even the history of our freedom struggle is replete with incidents many of which need to be resurrected. Let there be a sincere attempt at reforming education, disregarding parochial interests and influences. Lessons in history, for instance, should be factual and not doctored by sectarian interests. The older generation has the responsibility to practise proper values and ethics and refrain from a propensity to circumvent rules and regulations to achieve its goal--be it in the field of education, employment, business or securing services from Government and other agencies. Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj observed most appropriately that many of us are still at the level of 'grihasthas', yet to graduate to the level of 'citizens'. This attitude has to change.

The media, particularly television channels, abound in sordid presentation of every aspect of human weakness, seriously eroding the value system. Instead, a television channel should be devoted wholly for propagating values through a network of discussions, discourses, lessons from history, skits on lives of great personalities--the possibilities are immense. This would to some extent reform the current trend and could prevent a threatening anomic state in society.

A recent incident illustrates the erosion in values. A film on B.R. Ambedkar screened early this year appears to have invited a sort of savage celebration by a section of the audience during episodes where Mahatma Gandhi is indicted and when he fell to the assassin. Contrast this with the following observations of one Rev. John Homes at a Sermon in Chicago in 1922... '...a society which cannot suffer a Jesus or Gandhi to be at large is a society which is not fit to live.' Many may disagree with Gandhiji but dissent should be expressed without malicious delight. In this context, it is of interest to note from a report that Gandhiji's last death anniversary was observed in a different way in a little known village in Orissa. The villagers paid tributes to one Raghunath, who was a Gardener in Birla House in Delhi and who grappled and pinned down the assassin. It is not without significance that Swamiji credited the poor in India with a higher level of culture.

We need to be reminded about the greatness of our country. A veteran freedom fighter Surendranath Banerjee had this to say, 'Where is a land more interesting, more venerated in antiquity, more rich in historic tradition, in the wealth of religions, ethical and spiritual conceptions... Here, in the morning of the world, the Vaidik Rishis sang those hymns which represent the first yearnings of infant humanity towards the divine ideal. Here was developed a literature and language which still excite the admiration of mankind--a philosophy which pondered deep over the problems of life and evolved solutions which satisfied the highest yearnings of the loftiest minds. Here man first essayed to solve the mystery of life, and the solution, wrapped in the rich colours of the poetic imagination and clothed with the deeper significance of a higher spiritual idea, bids fair, thanks to the genius of the greatest Hindu scientist of the age, to be accepted by the world of science...' (Eighteenth Congress session of December 1902). The reference, probably, was to Swamiji although his name has not been mentioned. Looked at in this perspective, Indians have always enjoyed a high standard of living.