Papillon Human Potential - Spiritual Potential - Connection - A Sense of Connection

It's Very Hard to Be Materialistic

In the quote we used about materialism, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar stated that it is very difficult to be materialistic.

Let's remind ourselves of the quote first of all.

"It's very hard to be materialistic. Because love, beauty, joy, enthusiasm, none of this belongs to materials. Happiness is not a material thing." - H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

It occurred after hearing and watching this interview that many people could and might be of the view that 'Hey, actually many of us are actually pretty good at being materialistic and find it easy. No problems there, it's almost second nature', as an example.

Whilst this might be the case, I would suggest that it is, however, a very difficult skill which we, traditionally more so in the West, just happen to have been willing (or at least subject to) to develop over periods of the decades of our lives, and which actually is as much learned, acquired, and as difficult to 'master' as anything else.

I'm quite sure that when we were young we weren't so habituated into materialism. Instead, it is an aquired mindset, in the same way perhaps that being depressed requires practice (a depressed person has to learn how to look down, shoulders hunched, have shallow breath and focus on negative thoughts, etc.).

It might be well to remember this so we re-assess where and how we wish to place the importance of materialism and the pursuit of materialistic things, perhaps to where they can be enjoyed, but not so as the pursuit of them takes over our true wish.

Perhaps it is the healthiest way to say that material objects can be enjoyed as a wonderful part of life, but be aware to making sure we are not socially bullied by the acquired notion in our minds that we must pursue material things at our own cost.

If conditioning, advertising, marketing, consumerism and social pressure has led us to forget these truths, we can, with awareness and will, redress the balance of our approach to life to bring greater happiness.

I hope this article is of benefit to you. It has certainly benefitted me to spend a moment focusing on this question, having watched this short interview clip with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and the piercing wisdom and elegance of the quote certainly struck a chord with me.

If you have the multimedia capacities to view such a thing, the link below will take you to a page on the Andrew Cohen.org site through which you may be able to access the video clip in which Sri Sri Ravi Shankar discusses materialism and more. The article is titled 'A Living Manifestation of Spirit'.

James Blacker, 22nd April 2006.