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proves that even the millions and billions worth of wealth cannot buy happiness. In the absence of affection the life remains dry and sapless. This induces a sense of inferiority and there is no misery greater than that of a feeling of inferiority, boredom and dryness.
The situation in India is just the opposite. In India almost half the population lives below the poverty line. They do not have shoes on their feet and they do not have an umbrella to shade them from the scorching sun. In the scorching heat in the middle of summer the poor village women go to the forest to cut firewood, bundle it and carry it on their heads to sell it in the market and sing with pleasure all the time. This is a scene worth watching. The reason for their happiness lies in the affection in their personal lives. The thread of affection that runs through their families assures them that their family is with them in thick and thin. All will share whatever one person gets in the family. The head of the family eats only after all the members of the family have eaten. The trust in the familial life is so strong in Indian families that whatever the husband earns he gives to the wife and the wife is so devoted to the entire family that she feeds the entire family and eats only what remains in the end and feels happy about it. At the root of all this happiness is the mutual love, affection and trust that exists in Indian families. On the other hand in the so-called affluent countries of Europe, etc., there may be monetary affluence but they suffer from emotional poverty. Therefore, they lead a dry life and to overcome that dryness they drink and indulge in ever-new kinds of sensory pleasures. Even then the dryness does not leave them. What a pity for these wealthy but emotionally poor people? On the other hand the poor Indians live happily right into their old age and they do not have to look for old-age homes for their old parents. What is meant is that affection gives real happiness and meaning to life, which is the real wealth of the family. About fifty years ago the family in which more members lived together was considered to be a good and affluent family.
The person who has well-developed sense of affection does not differentiate between himself and the others and considers every one
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