Aparigraha the Humane Solution

Author(s): Kamla Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 15

Chapter-1 CONSUMERISM-ANTI-HUMAN GOAL “Economists tell us that today Americans own and consume twice as much as we did in 1950. Are we twice as happy ?"
Maggikramm. This statement clearly expresses the idea that the things that we own and consume and the happiness that we derive out of our possessions and consumption are not correlated. Both modern literature and the vast and rich ancient Indian corpus of texts repeatedly state that happiness does not come from the things that we possess and consume. On the other hand, to enrich one's life one has to streamline one's material world, one's possessions and consumption. Great thinkers have expressed the view that there is a link between accumulation for its own sake and restlessness. Nor is this just a trendy concept or fashion that has caught the attention of a few innovative thinkers of the West just for the sake of marketing it. The concept of limitation of possessions and desires is one of the fundamental principles of both Indian and Western ethical systems. It occupies a significant place in Indian ethical literature, where it is discussed systematically and in substantial detail, showing how unlimited desires and possessions can hamper one's spiritual growth. This, however, will be discussed in a separate essay. At present 'consuming too much' and 'possessing too much' are being discussed : these are issues that affect our social environment, and jeopardise our social existence, just as environmental degradation (meaning degeneration of the physical environment) affects our physical survival. Environmental degeneration may be attributed to the population explosion, but an objective reflection would reveal that it is more because of the consumeristic behaviour of the urban rich. The twin problems of physical and social environmental decay have, therefore, common consequences and should be taken serious note of, where we have the acute problem of population explosion. The Meaning of Consumerism
The term 'Consumerism' is derived from ‘consume' which literally means 'to exhaust', 'to waste', 'to destroy by wasting'; this