Socialism, communism, capitalism or any other “ism” that you can think of is a product or a subject of economics. Everyone understands income & expenditure, purchase & consumption etc. and their interconnectivity for managing the individual’s life. It however gets complicated progressively when it comes to managing lives collectively – of families, groups, societies and even a nation at large.

We all know that the urge to survive drives all our thinking and actions – but it cannot be viewed in isolation for an individual alone – as the individual is also dependent on others and external factors for survival. Now, that individual cannot have capitalism for self and strongly advise socialism or communism for others – being the part of whatever the ism he prefers as a member of that society. Luxury for self and austerity for others will not stand or work for too long – without creating problems. The wealth that provides security will need security to sustain & maintain – making you a security guard for it finally!

This drives us to the conclusion that preference for any ism is situational and no ism is perfect in itself – as people behave differently in different situations and that too quite non-uniformly! Economics is defined as the judicious management of scarce material for optimal utility. Wealth means the ownership, authority & control over large quantum of material. Survival is enhanced by wealth and threatened by the absence of it. Pleasure is pro-survival & pain is contra survival. Wealth is the means to pleasure and poverty is the cause for pain. Can you see the growing conflicts & complications?

What is the solution? The unquestionable answer is – “Spiritualism”. Read the rest of this entry →

The following is a master piece of comparative research between Mythology & History by Sri Devdutt Pattanaik – establishing the connection between Buddhi (Intellect); Buddha (The Founding Lord of Buddhism); Budha (The Planet Mercury)

Buddha and Budh represent the two ends of the spectrum of possibilities offered by the human intellect, writes DEVDUTT PATTANAIK

There is often confusion between Buddha, the enlightened sage who saw desire as the cause of all suffering, and Budh, the god of the planet mercury, who is associated with communication, trade and mischief; Budh also means Wednesday. Both these names can be traced to buddhi or intellect, the human ability to distinguish between reality and delusion. Buddha uses intellect to become wise. Budh uses intellect to be smart, slippery, even cunning. The two cannot be more different from each other. Buddha is associated with silence, stillness and serenity; Budh is associated with communication, travel and exchange. And yet, both crave for the truth.

Buddhist scriptures inform us that the Buddha’s birth is preceded by auspicious omens. His mother dreams of a white elephant entering her womb; it is foretold that the child will either be a great king or a great sage. The Buddha’s mother, Maya, dies soon after birth. He is raised by his aunt Mahaprajapati. He is named Siddhartha. He marries, has a child, but then is confronted with the miseries of worldly life — old age, sickness, death — that he has been kept away from by his father, Suddhodhan. He wonders what is the cause of suffering. He goes in search of the truth. Truth makes him Buddha, the enlightened one. Read the rest of this entry →