the morality of money

it is easier to be brave, when you had nothing to fear, to feign resilience in the absence of adversity, and to uphold the highest moral values, when one is not at the crossroads of right or wrong. appearing calm, like a still lake, is not that difficult given there is no turbulence. things however change, as do people, with the smallest of stones or difficulties, as the case might be, hurled at them.

someone broke into my house few days back when i was off to california, and took whatever gadgets he could find. worse, my rolodex containing my passport, all of the indian cards, licence etc caught his fancy too and now i have to go through the big incovenience of applying again for all of them. this incident, however made me ponder over the fate of people caught in real diasters like a fire or hurricane and what difficulties lie in front of them for simply building life again. my case, however, is like 1-2K bucks and few weeks, or months, at worst, of anxiety. would i say that i need to be more careful, or organized? certainly. but for sure, now i know that things are never as bad as they might appear to the outsiders.

in a training class for my b-school interview preps, when asked about why i wanted to join one, i confidently and perhaps arrogantly replied that coz i wanted to earn money in a legal and respectful manner. it didnt please my instructors however, as they were expecting more on the lines of I describing my inherent management and leadership skills. but my intent, I feel now, as i felt that day was to earn money first and foremost. and thats what i might have replied in the interviews if being asked. thankfully none of the interviews asked that question and i had a relatively smooth sailing.

3 and half years after graduating from one of the best b-schools in india, however, i am not that sure if there is anything respectful or even moral about earning money. especially when you read about people who doesnt even have enough to eat, or access to the most basic healthcase, and even living with the slightest of dignity is unimaginable for them. sure there is discrimination coz of caste, class, religion - but if u really look at it, money defines whether people have basic human rights, which most of the well-off people take for granted. what right one has, to spend hundreds of thousands buying a car (or in more ridiculous cases, a handbag or watch), when there are people walking barefoot tens of miles just to fetch drinking water or to reach a makeshift hospital to get treated for small diseases like malaria. is there a vast difference in the value addition of one person to the society to deserve such lifestyle differences? however hard i try, i could not reason there is. even if u assume otherwise, one must agree that the people living in remote villages doing the pettiest of jobs (if there is any such thing as a petty job) do have the potential of contributing in a manner which would bring them closer to get a more humane treatment, given an appropriate opportunity. the problem is, that almost all of them never get that opportunity.

this is the biggest battle of them all, fighting inequality and proving equal oppotunity to everybody. as for inequality, perhaps better governments all across the world can work to bring about an ideal world where none would exist. but like one of the old hindi poems go, we must conquer ourselves before conquering others. i, for one, still wear realtively expensive clothes, and drive a car which i could have done without. can i leave my way of life to help others and live a moderate life? to be honest, i am not sure. when i do think about all this, something in me propels me to leave all this behind and goto the remotest of villages to do my bit. that is perhaps my ideal self. the rational me, on the other hand reminds me of obligations towards my parents and my family. why do they have to live an austere life just coz i want to be an idealist? and then there is always the logic of being able to do more for others when i myself earn well enough.

at times, i do realize that all my logic can not overcome my guilt of not devoting my life to better causes. i have stopped counting how many times it brings tears to my eyes, only to be overruled by my selfishness, going back to the normal everyday life and thoughts within minutes. i dont know if i have the courage to leave all this behind, perhaps i can never have enough courage to be like gautam buddha to leave my family and work for more altruistic causes. so, i have to look for a middle path, justifying my years in the plentiful society, whereas the rest of humanity continues to strive hard to make the two ends meet.

but leaving myself aside,there are others things which leaves me so confused. what is the utility of all the scientific or cultural advancement? how is it better to know about sub-atomic particles when there are millions whose life could be drastically altered if they just have access to primary education? or is a piece of art more valuable than the lives of entire populations of many nations? or is a harry potter book so valuable to deserve royalties running into sums which could forever cure the curse of poverty of generations? it is not that the world does not have enough resources to cure the planet of all its ills, i believe it certainly has. but the proverbial will is lacking. when US can spend 300 billion to support the financial institutions which gambled with the hard earned money of others, and in the process made few people very rich; it could have certainly changed the fates of many african nations forever. maybe i dont have the right to pose these questions, when i feel compelled to work towards improving my own lives, other people also have the same right, even if they are millionaires or billionaires. i just wish and hope this would change, if not entirely, then atleast to some degree.