A simple thought that has been sown in the mind and nourished for years is the most dangerous thing because nobody questions! Take for example, water which is bottled from our own resources and is sold for 20 bucks, but when an oxygen cylinder is sold, we question the purity of air!
We are surrounded by lies or half-truths that are told to us since centuries by various entities, some in the name of religion, free-market, democracy and so on.
Food, clothing, shelter was considered to be the three basic necessities of life that our schools and parents have ingrained in us. For example, a generation worked hard to buy land, build a house and provide a roof to protect themselves from the elements of nature. This was the concept behind shelter, which then evolved to a “dream house”, in which people started pumping in money to make it look bigger and better.
A middle class person who wishes to be with his family and spend quality time with them, is now seen slogging at work just because it pays the EMI’s and Interest of the loan taken to build that dream house. For some it takes 20 years and for others more! With an interest rate of 12% being paid to the banks and the inflation set at 6%, does the property rate increase any more than 18%?
Few may get lucky by learning the tricks and trades of the system, but the majority suffer in this process. Even though a lot of people could have rented homes (which would have been a cheaper proposition), they remain sold to the dream that is sown by the banks, which thrive on the loans borrowed and rely on the money of those who are never giving up on that dream (house).
So goes with food and clothing. Nature has provided us with an abundance of healthy food, but we are lured into buying food that is overcharged. Doctors suggest greens and raw vegetables for better health, but food processing industries, which rely heavily on sales, grab our eyeballs through aggressive marketing and advertising and before we know it, we have fallen into a trap! Couple that with expensive restaurants that make you feel that eating in restaurants makes you happy. But it is the moments spent with loved ones and the same food (without those tastemakers) that spread laughter and contentment.
How and when did we fall prey to this system?
Why do we feel that money is never enough?
Why are the rich accumulating more wealth?
How did we classify the rich and the poor?
We created money and we classified humans as rich and poor. The corporations and large organizations know exactly how our brain functions. How the hormones like dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins which make us happy are secreted.
“It’s Easier to Fool People Than It Is to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled.”- Mark Twain
Billions are spent by organisations on research to make people crave for their product in order to experience happiness. It could be a dream house, education, expensive food, tourism and what not, so it is not completely our fault that we believe in the lies today. When so much research has gone into wrapping truth with lies and reinforcing it through various means, I sometimes wonder if God created man or if man created “God”. Because if God created all living things, then why do we only find humans worshiping Him. Perhaps the intelligent animals would have worshiped nature “the sun” “the wind” “the fire” “the earth” but in time people interpreted things according to their convenience, and their imaginations gave their thoughts some shape and these shapes (idols) created divisions, culture, communication, and religion. A simple thought incepted over time became a reality that nobody dares to question. There’s nothing wrong with believing in man-made reality. But fighting in the name of it, forcing someone to believe in it and following it isn’t!
As Twain says “It’s Easier to Fool People Than It Is to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled.” It’s the thought process and the quest for truth that liberates people from the shackles of the lies that are intertwined with our lives.
There’s nothing wrong with believing in man-made reality. But fighting in the name of it, forcing someone to believe in it and following it isn’t!
Siddhartha, who was bound by a reality his father wanted him to see and believe, crossed over the high walls surrounding his palace, when he sensed something was not right and sought transcendence outside the walls and far from the noise of the world built by men. Luckily today the answers are found in books written by people who had the courage to question and discover the truth, and we don’t have to go to forests in search of answers.
The earlier the truth is unveiled, the more happier the individual, and the more beautiful the world is to him despite the chaos and stupidity!