ASK MAULANA — Your Questions, Answered

ASK MAULANA Your Questions, Answered Is today’s economic crisis in the world the result of unlimited freedom of the business community? The economic crisis is not because of unlimited freedom, but the true reason is the unlimited lust for accumulating wealth. This kind of lust goes against the law of nature. Nature has provided things only in a limited quantity. Thus, if you try to acquire things without any limitation, it would certainly lead to a crisis. It is this natural fact that has been expressed by Mahatma Gandhi in these words: “The world has enough for man’s need, but not enough for man’s greed.” Please explain how to develop God-oriented thinking in this material environment. God-oriented thinking cannot be obtained by going into seclusion and engaging in meditation. It is developed through contemplation on the experiences and observations of daily life. Our environment has two aspects: outwardly, it is material, but at the same time it has spiritual content. You have to extract that spiritual content, just as the honeybee extracts the nectar content from the flower. This spiritual extraction is the only way of developing God-oriented thinking. Many say that if we live a life of simplicity or an ascetic life, how will the economy run? Please comment. Simplicity is the lifestyle of an individual, it has no connection with the economy. JRD Tata, for example, was very simple as far his personal life was concerned, yet he was able to establish an industrial empire in India. How should a person manage his expenditure within his means of income? Learn the art of differentiation between need and luxury. When you are able to discern this difference, you will certainly be able to easily manage your expenditure, whatever be your income.