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Written: March 2003
The American economy has been in recession for the past few years. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their jobs. Often when a man loses his job, he ends up losing his home too, and in some cases, also his wife or girlfriend.
In other words for many people in America, which is the most powerful, and also one of the most prosperous countries in the world today, the current economic downturn has brought nothing but misery.
In this article I wish to share some of my thoughts about surviving not only this economic downturn but any economic downturn, and not only in America, but in any country on this planet.
The first thing to remember is that living in a bigger house does not make your happier. I have seen that most Indians buy big houses. They do so for two reasons.
The first reason is that in India a house is a prized possession. Your house in India seldom loses its value and almost always appreciates in value over time. But not so in America. Here your house can lose its value and living in rented apartment in America is often a better decision than owning a home.
The second reason is that most Indians in America are well off and own big homes. When an Indian who has been in this country for only a few years visits the home of his friend who has been here for decades, he gazes with awe at a big home decorated with expensive furnishings and decorations.
With the memory of this visit in his mind, when this Indian goes shopping for a home, he is more inclined to buy a home that is far more spacious than he needs and far more expensive than he can really afford. Still he takes advantage of the low mortgage rates and buys an expensive home.
But when the economy goes south or when a big company like Enron suddenly collapses like a deck of cards, and this Indian loses his job, he is in deep trouble. He can not afford to make the large mortgage payments, not can he afford to pay the large bills for maintenance. Finally he has to sell off the home and loses a lot of money in the process. Because he is still an Indian he is lucky and does not lose his wife.
If this Indian had bought a smaller home or perhaps if he had rented an apartment instead of rushing to buy a home, he would have been much better off. When the economy went south, if he was living in a rented apartment, he could easily move to another city where jobs in his profession were more readily available than in his own city.
In today's economy in North America, you have to be ready to move to another city and sometimes even to another country, if you want to survive or gain financially.
So, one must learn that one should not buy a big home or a big car just to show off. Your friends like you not because you own a big home or a big car, but because they like you. A true friend will like you no matter what.
Also one should learn from the example of Lord Shiva, who is the ultimate symbol of renunciation. Lord Shiva renounced everything in the word. He even consumed poison so as to save the world. We too should learn to renounce. At least we should realize that unbridled materialism does not make you happier. If you have more material possessions, this does not make you more happy. These possessions often make you more unhappy, because rather than enjoying life you are spending all your time, taking care of your possessions.
So, instead of going for a walk in the park with your wife or husband, you are sitting in front of your PC trying to analyze your stock and bond holdings, trying to figure out how much you lost or gained.
This is not to say that one should not strive for material gain. The truth is that it is difficult to be happy when one is a pauper. You need money to be happy. But you have to realize that you do not need too much money to be happy.
Too much money will make you unhappy because then you will have to deal with thieves who want to steal your money. You will have to spend lots of time trying to manage your money, and you will have to make sure your children do not know that you have lots of money, for fear that they might lose motivation for hard work and academic success.
In any event, if you have amassed lots of wealth, try to unload the burden by giving some of it to charity, and donate some to your favorite temple or church, and you should give some of it to Hindu Prayer Society which publishes the web site www.hindutemplehouston.net.
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