Money is Not Everything

Money is essential that brings for man all his necessities and luxuries for his comfortable existence. Life without money is undoubtedly a virtual hell, with pangs of hunger and thirst eating into man’s very bones. However, at the same time for man to think that, money is everything, is also a great mistake. Money is necessity only in as much as, it is the thing which buys for us all we need, but, beyond that, money is a harbinger of all sorts of vices. Let us remember that money is to be considered as a means to an end, and not an end in itself. The end, is a comfortable life, and the means is money.
If we consider money as a means to our end of having a comfortable life then, we would be seeing money in its proper perspective for without money we can not live as, we are not able to buy anything if we do not have money. So much, so good but, in the present day scenario, money is no more a means to an end but, and in itself. To collect money, to hoard money and become richer and richer has become our sole aim in life. It is here in our outlook towards money that we have erred, and so the disastrous situation we are placed in, is not hidden from any one. Each individual has set a goal of hoarding money and money only, and this also not fixed to a certain amount, we just have to go on and on irrespective of how much we need, for the lust for money has become our very style of life. It is a wild goose chase that we are all indulging in, and that, at the cost of all the rest we had.
True, money gives us all that we require but money is not all the only thing that we need to keep happy and fit. There are several other things that make life beautiful and mind that these can not be purchased with any amount of money. For example, a gush of wind from where we take our very breath of life, cannot be purchased at any cost. We can wear the most glamorous dresses but, to give health to that same body, no amount of money is enough. We can buy the thickest and costliest of mattresses with money but, no amount of money can buy for us a good sound, night’s sleep. These few facts are sufficient to awake us to the fact that, there are many other important things that make for a happy life, and money is not all. We should thereby give money only its due importance and not make it all important, for, if we do that, we are certainly going to sacrifice some other vital items of a good life. Now let us analyze to some extent how this money is capable of playing havoc in life.
In reality, the position of the society today, is far from being enviable, is largely due to this money mania that has caught hold of the society. Each and every individual is busy in his/her money spinning activities. At this juncture, I would like to mention the fact that in our Hindu mythology, the Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth has an owl for her transport. This is very significant as it is believed that the pursuit of money, as it is today; make an owl of a man. I’d say that we have all become money maniacs, sacrificing every conceivable pleasure on the altar of wealth. Is this not owlish sense? When we lose our equilibrium, we become the significant owls.
Today, we have sacrificed the bliss of a happy and contented family in the guise of material luxuries which, we think are all that we need. We have no time to love each other, care for each other or, serve each other in the family because each member of the family is busy in the struggle of making money. In this unit of a family, where, at one time the love we got was an elixir for our tired nerves, is now a missing entity.
On the other hand now, we have plush carpets, foam on our beds, and a beautiful dining table with, no one at home to share our joys and worries. This is what money has done to our family succour. The parents are busy making money and have no time, to spare for the children, the husband is busy buying diamonds for his wife, but has no time even to take a glance at her when she dons them. The wife is busy in preparing the office routine, but has no time for the routine service of the family. So, in this avenue of life, mony has done more harm than good. In as much as money was essential to buy for man his necessities and to some extent even his luxuries, it was good but, as soon as it became the be all and end all of life, it wreaked havoc in life.
On the social front also, no one has any time to be even aware of about the welfare of the neighbors and colleagues, as each one is busy not only spinning money but, spinning money more than the neighbor. When such an unhealthy competition exists for the hoarding of money, where then will a society exist at all. Where no one knows anything about anyone, no does anyone care to know anything about anyone, then, where does a society exist? The society has been blown up into fragments, with each family of the society only busy raising bank balances more than the neighbor’s.
It is this money and the lust for it that has afflicted uncounted miseries on man. All the competition that persists today is only to rise above the others not in any other way than just the other’s bank balances. Man has become so very depraved in this chase of money that he can do, and he also does anything; yes anything to get hold of money. Is this what money was meant for? Family squabbles, social bickering, political gains are all managed for the sake of this money. This is why today; no one understands any language, except the language of money. For money people are killed children or even adults are kidnapped. It is for this money the modern sophisticated man has become a little less than a beast.
After having a bird’s eye view of the present scenario are we still in a position to say that money is all that we need? Yes, money is all important but, only to a limit. Once the limit of satisfaction is crossed it converts man into a mere animal, a brute and a devil. It is this excess of money that leads man to all sorts of crimes. We should realize that money is not all that we need for happiness, for, I daresay, the opposite is correct – and all the unhappiness spread in the world to-day is the obvious corollary of excess money in circulation, and the lust for it. The unhappiness and crime registered in these days of lots of money, surpasses the unhappiness of any times before this. In spite of so much progress and prosperity why is there so much of ill will, degradation and unhappiness? It is I think because we are laying too much stress on money and only money. The fact of rampant unhappiness goes to prove that, money is not all that we need to live, for, it is by now apparent that, to be happy, we need so many other things, which money cannot even buy for us. Now, the position is that, we have sacrificed all the finer needs of our happiness for this mundane money and the result is obvious and for all of us to see, and understand.
I suggest that a stage has now come when we must give up our on fighting for money and give it only the amount respect and importance it deserves, it should be treated only as a means to an end, and not an end itself, only then we will be able to strike a balance between the inputs of money and the inputs of other things we need to live a happy and satisfied life.