== SELFISHNESS AND CRIME IN THE WEST ==
Namaskar,
Stabbing the school principal, shooting the driver of another car,
open-firing on innocent people in a cafeteria, sexually assaulting and
torturing a string of young girls...and countless other tragic occurrences.
Each and every year, each and every month, there has been a sharp & graphic
rise in the number of violent acts, senseless attacks, and grotesque crimes
in capitalistic societies. This is especially true in the US, as well as in
many other western countries where the self-centered philosophy of
capitalism is in vogue.
To get to the root cause of these anti-social activities means questioning
the very pillars of capitalism itself.
SELFISHNESS HAS COME DUE TO SELF-CENTERED PHILOSOPHY
As is commonly known, the self-serving capitalism is rooted in selfishness.
This is its base and everybody knows this very fact. And, after all, this
is Baba's divine teaching.
Baba says, "The followers of self-centered philosophies do everything only
for self-interest, self-pleasure..In self-centered philosophies, individual
selfishness is the motive, as in capitalism." (PNS-18)
So from top to bottom, self-centered philosophies like capitalism are sunk
in crude selfishness.
And this is the word on the street as well: One can read about the
selfishness of capitalism in the newspapers and magazines. They will
superficially talk about the paradoxes of luxury cruises and big mansions
in the face of starving children and review other selfish aspects of
capitalism-- all the while secretly harboring and coveting the idea of
becoming filthy rich as well. Because they see it all as a money issue,
nothing more. And ultimately they are trying to get rich also.
So on the one hand all are aware about the selfishness of capitalism to
some degree or another; but exactly how this selfishness gets expressed and
how this selfishness hinders the society is less commonly known. That is
not on the tip of everyone's tongue.
CAPITALISM IS SELFISHNESS & SELFISHNESS IS GLAMOROUS
Before continuing there are two points here to touch on:
(1) The very foundational belief of capitalism is that human beings
are by nature selfish. And it is selfishness alone which motivates people.
This is the entire premise upon which capitalism has been founded. In contrast,
our Proutistic philosophy works in a directly opposite manner-viewing human
beings as service-minded and spiritual in nature.
(2) In the self-centered societies, selfishness is looked upon as
something very great and glamorous. People are praised for their
selfishness. Whereas in a family-oriented society of east, this type of
selfishness is not at all encouraged, rather it is disparaged. But in the
west, selfishness is praiseworthy and a respectable attribute. Everyone
shows off what they got, and bystanders "ooh" & "ahh" in awe. This is the
nature of the game.
SELFISHNESS IN THE SEED VESSEL OF EVERYONE'S MIND
To continue with the central issue of examining the way of life under a
self-centered philosophy such as in the USA & many other western nations,
as we see, selfishness is not just related with the hoarding of money but,
even worse, it penetrates deep inside the seed vessel of everyone's mind.
People become so consumed with their own self-preservation and
self-satisfaction that they are unable to care for others, including their
own family members and children.
Husbands regularly walk out on their wives for a younger female for their
own sensual gratification and pleasure; mothers look upon their children as
being just a burden and fail to give them the love necessary to develop and
grow; mothers leave their infant babies outside their room and do not
breast-feed them in order to use their bodies for self-gratification;
brothers and sisters bitterly fight and quarrel day and night for their
self-interest etc. All because people are engrossed in their own individual
desires and they do not care about others.
This is the plight that have become the living reality in the USA and
wherever self-centered philosophies take root.
And the problem is only getting worse. Because, now the younger generations
have only been exposed to extreme capitalism and nothing else. They see,
taste, touch, and breathe selfishness in 360 degrees. And they feel
neglected by those around them.
In the end they get lost in despair and think that there is no one there
who loves them, and that they have come on this earth just to suffer in
their own loneliness. Because all are selfish. No matter how much money
they have or how much prestige they have, they are always fearful that
someone will grab that away from them. And that makes them very weak. And
by this way families and communities just get broken into pieces and people
feel entirely shelterless. And in this ocean of despair, people lose the
desire to even live.
Proof being that the number of lunatics is growing and the number of
patients in mental hospitals is exponentially on the rise. All because of
frustration, depression, due to extreme selfishness.
And in that erratic state, they can walk into any public place and open
fire on dozens of innocent people and kill themselves also. Because such
despondent souls have lost all hope and connection with the living world.
This is the very sorrowful and desperate condition of the 'children of
capitalism'-- i.e. those who were born in this environment of extreme greed
and radical selfishness such as in the USA, and other such nations.
And indeed wherever else capitalism reaches whether it be Delhi, Bombay, or
Tokyo, etc, such problems will arise. But in the west since this is the
motherland of selfish philosophies like capitalism, the problems associated
with it are more prevalent.
NOT LIMITED TO THE US-- IT WILL GO WHEREVER CAPITALISM GOES
In some countries of the globe, where the joint family is still in tact
such as in India, people may think that capitalism is really great. Because
they think capitalism will give them the money they want, and side-by-side
they will have the love, caring, and overall support of their joint family
etc. This is their ignorance.
However, what such persons fail to realise is that self-centered
philosophies like capitalism will eat away at the very social fabric of
their society. Little by little, step by step, selfishness will creep into
the collective mind-set, and all the sweetness of life will begin to
disappear; it will totally dry-up.
People will become slaves to their jobs and money; old people will be
looked upon as liabilities and will be carted off to old-age homes; parents
will be sexually oriented and will lose interest in raising their children.
And so many nefarious developments will occur.
In short, all the great foundations of society which have lasted for ages
and ages will disintegrate to nothing in the wake of these self-centered
philosophies. And instead all around there will be selfishness, desolation,
isolation, and alienation.
And, very quickly, there will be the outbreak of violent crimes on a daily
basis. Not because people are thieving due to a lack of food, but because
they have become so lonely, frustrated, depressed, and sick from the
disease of capitalism, that they vent their despair and anger in
inexplicable acts of violence.
So what we see happening in the US & various other western nations will
travel all around the globe. Because as any self-centered philosophy
spreads it will bring its nasty aura of selfishness along with it. And then
in a very short while, all the outbreaks of frustration, despair, and
violence will occur. There is no other end result.
Even then if anyone looks from a distance at such self-centered societies
then they will see something very alluring and appealing. But on the
superficial outside, everything is shiny and glamorous. But the reality is
something vastly different; internally it is hollow, dark, and lonely. So
none should get confused and became enticed by the glitz and glamour.
BRINGING PROUT & SOLVING THE PROBLEM
The only way out and the only way to escape the noose of capitalism is to
shift to a service oriented society like Prout. Because in that way all
one's economic needs will be met and one will have ample purchasing
capacity, but because God, and not money is the focal point, there will be
love and compassion all around.
And on the top those who are weak, downtrodden, hungry, and sad will be
cared for, loved, and nurtured. No one will be forgotten or left behind.
Some may see Prout as a far off dream, but actually by Baba's grace we are
closer to it than we think. Here Baba gives the very real formula for how
to establish Prout.
Baba says, "Now intellectuals are finding place for a new alternative -
PROUT. Generally, since 50% of society are good people, 25% are ordinary
people and 25% are evil people, if you organize 50% plus 25% then 75% is
gained by PROUT. Carry the message of PROUT to the people." (PNS-18)
BABA'S BLESSING
By Baba's grace the inherent longing of all human beings is one and He has
given Prout to appease that human thirst. Because only in our God-Centered,
Proutistic model can all live and grow in a cooperative way-- building up a
harmonious human society.
Baba says, "Human beings want selfless service. PROUT is dedicated to
the service and welfare of one and all. You should immediately build a one
and indivisible human society without further delay by popularizing PROUT."
"The spirit of service comes from the spirit of serving the Supra-Mental
Entity. Where the spirit of serving the Supra-Mental Entity is lacking,
there cannot be any service spirit in any emanation or any manifestation of
creation. So pro-spiritual psychology is essential for a happy and
integrated social order." (AFPS-8)
Namaskar,
Hitendra
Note 1: MORE ABOUT HOW SELFISHNESS IS THE BE-ALL IN CAPITALISM
In capitalism, selfishness is tops. Everything is done with the sole motive
of satisfying their self-indulgent ways.
Baba says, "The followers of self-centered philosophies do everything only
for self-interest, self-pleasure..In self-centered philosophies, individual
selfishness is the motive, as in capitalism." (PNS-18)
So the entire wheel of capitalism is spinning around the hub of selfishness.
People do business to satisfy their own greed, not to help the society;
children are not born out of love but are mostly the product of sexually
indulgent escapades; people "help" others in order to get something in
return, not with a motive to serve.
Baba says, "If you serve them with the selfish motive of securing their
assistance in your bad days, the entire effort of tapah is lost in a
moment." (GHC)
Indeed all goodness and caring is lost in capitalism. People vacation,
purchase, travel, and spend merely to satisfy their selfish desires.
In sum, everything is done out of self-interest; nothing is done out of the
feeling of welfare to others.
And the result is that when everyone is selfish and goal is limited, then
fights break out in all directions. It is just like if there are 5 hungry,
selfish persons and only 2 bananas.
And as we see this proves to be disastrous.
Note 2: CAPITALISM BREEDS SUB-HUMAN ACTS
Here Baba reveals how capitalism pushes all-- rich and poor-- onto the
brink of disaster.
Baba says, "In capitalism the rich, in their affluence, misuse the psychic
urge and direct their psychic pabula to the pursuit of material gains. And
the poor, in their extreme poverty, misdirect their psychic urges and
concentrate their psychic pabula on antisocial activities in their struggle
for existence...In both cases psychic urges are misutilised for sub-human
activities in the physical, psycho-physical and psychic spheres. This must
be stopped." (AFPS-8)
Note 3: AM DOES NOT SUPPORT CAPITALISM
There are any number of ways that capitalism goes against the ideals of
AM-- here is yet another.
Baba says, "A member of a family who does not feel a sense of unity with
the other family members, and does not recognize the logically acceptable
truth and lofty principle of joint rights, cannot be regarded as a social
being. According to universal spiritual ideology, the system of individual
ownership cannot be regarded as absolute. This is why Ananda Marga's
concept of society does not support capitalism." (PNS-21)
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Fate of Groupists
Baba says, "Those who have not got any subtle ideology or goal are sure to
become one with the crude world, one with the physical world, one with the
world of atoms and electrons. What a dangerous situation! They will lose
their identities and become one with the dust of the earth." (SS-18, p.1-2)
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