Throughout history powerful nations have subjugated weaker nations but their victory is only temporary.
Yes! Indeed we do. We worship the ‘fake gods’ of wealth, power, prestige and endless enjoyment.
Wealth : ‘Money can’t buy me love’, belted the Beatles. It’s so true. Designer clothes, bags, expensive holidays, fancy cars, changing our mobiles for the latest model – these may be ‘a few of my favourite things’ but they are temporal. It is ironic. We work ourselves to the bone to acquire all the new toys and then don’t find the time to enjoy them. What is the use of a large house if we only have time to sleep in it?
Acquisitions are addictive. We are never satisfied and are always seeking for more. When we single handedly pursue the chimera of wealth, we lose out on relationships with family and friends.
Those who lose sight of their values and employ shady deals in order to live their crazy rich lifestyles are bringing down the pillars of the very society they live in. For instance, the unscrupulous felling of trees results in climate changes and environmental degradation that affects the health of the so called business man behind this act.
Being rich in itself is not harmful provided we do so legally, we know when to stop and we use it for the betterment of society. Businessman Asim Premji is the founder Chairman of Wipro and is known as the Czar of the Indian IT Industry whose business acumen has resulted in much needed jobs. In addition he is a philanthropist who has agreed to give away at least half of his wealth.
We do have a right to ownership through our hard work and through our inheritance. But we should spare a thought for others.
Power : Power is a drug which enslaves the powerful. Harbouring ideas of grandeur is an illusion. It is temporary. Napoleon Bonarparte spent his last years in exile on the island of Saint Helena. Alexander was the Great only till the tender age of 27 when he died of syphilis. His greatness ended in pain. Adolf Hitler, the notorious megalomaniac dictator, spent his last days in a bunker. These power crazy leaders are heartless and the death of others is fine as long as gives them power and as long as it is not their own death. These guys would have been powerless unless they had others who followed them blindly in the hope of reflected glory. Throughout history powerful nations have subjugated weaker nations but their victory is only temporary.
The late astronaut Kalpana Chawla in an interview said that the earth seemed so tiny when seen from Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. A different perspective from the war mongers and megalomaniacs who imagine they have conquered the world!
As the Gospel according to Mathew states ‘What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? ‘
Fame and Importance : A lot of us want to be in the limelight. We insanely share selfies on Instgram and Facebook at a restaurant, on holiday and wearing something cool. We are desperate to score more ‘Likes’ than our friends.
It is pertinent to mention that the famous singers of today are forgotten in time and replaced by younger singers. There was a guy who prided himself on the articles he wrote which were published in several magazines. After his death, copies of the articles he had treasured were unceremoniously jettisoned. The articles he wrote yesterday were of no use unless they give a positive message and changed someone’s life for the better. The boss everyone curries favour with is a forgotten nobody after retirement.
Enjoyment : We live in a world of instant gratification. For some of the pampered rich, their entire lives revolve around enjoyment . These self centered individuals lack the ability to stand on their own two feet when the chips are down.
The party brigade indulges in binge eating followed by spells of binge fasting, as enjoyment to them is the be all and end all of life. They indulge excessively in smoking, drinking, gaming, drugs, sex and night club life, thinking that since they are young, nothing will happen to them. They burn the candle at both ends. The entertainment industry has many instances of young, talented life being tragically snuffed out due to excessive self indulgence.
Some of you would have heard of the ‘27 Club’ of several western pop musicians, artists, actors, and athletes who died at age 27 between 1969 and 1971, often as a result of drug and alcohol abuse or suicide. Some of them were Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. According to Wikipedia, a 2011 British Medical Journal study concluded, "Fame may increase the risk of death among musicians, but this risk is not limited to age 27".
There are so many temptations with easy online accessibility and it is easy to fall prey to ‘fake gods’. Life is short and when we pursue fake gods, we are throwing our lives away. It is therefore imperative for our own happiness and that of others that we view our priorities and focus on living useful, productive lives.
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