The Need For Simplicity
Humans have made their life too difficult
for they have indulged themselves into an endless race of doing better (than
God knows what) and defeating other people. Competition is everywhere – from getting
good marks in exams to even getting to use the loo first than your roommate, from
getting a well paying job to finding a suitable spouse for yourself; there isn’t
a single place where you won’t find competition.
Sometimes, I think that there might
be a huge line at the heaven’s door where people would be competing with each
other for who goes in first. (That might be true!)
But here what I want to talk
about isn’t competition. My topic of discussion is simplicity. Then why did I start
off while talking about competition? Because this omnipresent thing in human life
has given rise to a state called ‘lack of simplicity’.
Due to extreme amount of
competition, people are forced to strive for doing better. And this isn’t
concerned about only studies and career. Take the example of your clothes-
today you’re wearing a simple kurta with no bold prints or gaudy kinda embroidery
(in case of girls).
Would you be satisfied? Maybe
yes. But after a few days when you would keep on looking at your friends
wearing branded or designer clothes, you would also want to wear those kind of
clothes or you would start fighting the urge to get carried away by that kind
of lifestyle. Won’t this happen to you?
This happens to one and all, even
the Indian Idol – Mahatma Gandhi was once carried away by the western
lifestyle. Why does that happen? Is it because of competition? Yes.
But the biggest reason is lack of
simplicity in the minds and hearts of people. Nowadays, each one of us is so
busy in overpowering our fellow beings that we often forget the real desires of
ours. We tend to think that what we want is the lifestyle or position the so
and so person has but that is not what we actually want.
The human heart actually craves
for simplicity. A simple lifestyle where you meet your daily needs (not the
ones inspired by someone else’s lifestyle) is our real desire, a lifestyle where one is more worried and
concerned about fulfilling one’s own desires than the ones inflicted upon one by
the ‘society’!
What all of us need is simplicity
and lack of simplicity is the real reason behind the prolonged unhappiness. We are
happy for some time when we’re chilling out with our friends but then when we
are alone we start falling into that dark pit of inapprehensible darkness. Why does
that happen?
The reason might be because we fail to
understand what we really want. We fail to accept simplicity is our need. What
do you think?
Excellently written as always. Just a few points I'd like to comment on-
ReplyDeleteI really don't see how wearing funky outfits has anything to do with simplicity or competition. Wearing funky clothes because because others are wearing them, just where does the simplicity factors in? Also Gandhi could have simply liked the western Lifestyle... I get that there are a few people out there who zealously follow the latest trends, but that's also because they like doing so. I've never seen anyone 'unhappy' with the outfit they're wearing(unless it's a bet of course).
"Due to extreme amount of competition, people are forced to strive for doing better."- Why do you assume that it results in unhappiness? I get that people who fail even after that are disappointed, but unhappiness is a really heavy term.
When I start on a new project, whether it be a programming one or something like learning guitar, I force myself to reach my limits and beyond. Amazing things happen when you are able to achieve that.. Instead of unhappiness, it results in exhilaration, wonder that you're able to achieve something so marvelous, something you've never thought you were capable of. For example, we study only during the exams, where we're forced to get through our complete syllabus and memorize whatever we could in a really short amount of time. I don't know about you, but that's the time I start to understand what the subject we were taught was all about, understand what all those concepts were. Its really exciting(at least for me as I really love computer science) to read about all those things. During class lecture, we don't apply ourselves enough to even try at understanding anything, just because we have too much time, and no need to 'boot' our minds.
I'd conclude here by saying simplicity just can not result in Happiness. Tranquility-Yes, satisfaction-Yes, a peaceful state of mind-Yep! But happiness-NOT.
As is often said regarding Yin-Yang, you can't have Happiness without Unhappiness, love without hate and all that stuff. You can't just decide to live in simplicity(like sadhus and sants) and expect to be happy all the time. That's living in neutrality just because you're either afraid of those extreme emotions, or fed up with everything.
Those bursts of happiness and darkness are what makes us humans, you just need to accept both of them as parts of yourself. The more you try to push negative emotions away, the more they're going to... strike back!
You can either accept that yes, you're envious of someone's dress and wish you had it yourself- thus moving on(stowing that thought inside), or decide to act like it doesn't matter, you're not thinking it at all, where those cast aside emotions would start to get deeply rooted inside you, and start building up over time, consuming you once and for all, making you a bitter person without you realizing it at all(and it happens, whether you like it or not).
The best & the worst example I can give right now is 'crying after death of a close person'. The more you try to keep that inside, the worse you get. But after you accept that & cry to your heart's content, its like a burden has been lifted from your shoulders.
Soo.... yep, I was bored! :P
What do you think?!
Hello Rahul, it's good to see you on my blog after such a long time and that was not boring at all. I was pretty excited while reading that. :)
DeleteNow, the kind of simplicity I am talking about is the one which does give you inner happiness.
Just imagine a situation where you achieve all your short term goals like good job, good spouse - everything. Do you think that would make you happy at the end? Would you be satisfied? Won't you crave for more? I bet you would. Everyone does. This is human nature. Once we win over something, we do feel extremely happy for some time but that doesn't last long. Soon we are lost again in the race of winning something else. There isn't any end.
And by finding the way to simplicity, you don't actually need to renounce the world and be a Sadhu/Sant. All you need to do is finding satisfaction in the simplicity. The situation where you have less than you dreamt of but you feel more happy. That brings real happiness and it does come through simplicity. Agree?
I completely concur with what Rahul said, I do wear funky clothes and shoes, but feel much comfortable and happy in my pajamas and that doesn’t mean I am a simple guy. Simplicity should always stay in your mind and heart. Your outer appearance is just an avatar.
DeleteHello Raunak, First of all sorry for being too late to reply to your comment. Had been travelling since two days.
DeleteNo doubt simplicity can't be described through what you wear. Wearing funky clothes doesn't describes your simplicity. Simplicity comes from heart, not from outer appearance and I support this fact completely.
But what I meant there is that when you get carried away by someone else's lifestyle.. it destroys your simplicity.
Sometimes it happens we don't actually like a particular thing, we don't find comfort in it but still we tend to want that and get that just because so and so person has it.
I like the way you put your perception about things but I am sure that does not apply for everyone out there...
ReplyDeleteHey Rakesh, the first thing about perception is it varies from person to person. Some might thoroughly agree to what I say and some might just think the opposite.
Delete