Consort of our ego

We can't all be right and wrong at the same time. It doesn’t require an Einstein’s mind to figure that out. Then why do we seem to always be struggling to convince others of our view to be correct? Obviously there has to be a reason and that relates to the realm of our ego. The strength of it is determined by the degree to which we attempt to have our way. What makes us feel what we say is right is our ego. The ego never likes to lose. So even at the expense of deceit it would attempt to convince the other soul wrong.

But how can we all be right just as we cannot all be wrong while on the same subject? But we do go on this vain attempt time and time again for the gain the ego is destined to have. Actually our ego is what others see as our personality or individuality. The ego's rise to its prominence in each one of us is at a high point when we have become an adult. But of course this soul-scorching path of the ego can continue as it gets bloated over time as our lives show us ever higher paths to wealth, position and authority. Thus, as we move ahead in these departments of life, only very few of us find the salvage of modesty that can subvert the expanding ego.

The path to spiritual development of any human being is possible only when we can give a deaf ear to our ego. Yes, true, as long as we remain human we cannot do away with our ego altogether. But we can surely learn not to listen to it and be servant to it by heeding its constant prodding. And how do we do that? Simply put -- by being a good listener; listening to what the other person has to say for what it might be worth, and not negating right away another’s opinion even though he or she might be less endowed with worldly power than we think we may be. Such habitual practice will slowly translate into the behavior of respect for the other person and an awareness that we can indeed defer in difference without falling out with each other.

But the pull of the ego is so strong especially when there is wealth and power on which we stand, and more of it beckoning us from the finish line so to say, and most of us are swayed beyond control falling headlong into the web of hedonism that the ego has laid out for us, from which it is very difficult to extricate - come only a tragic calamity as wake up call.

We all want peace and harmony in our little corner of the world in Maldives. But for bloated egos, this can be possible. We can be still be human if we prefer, and enjoy the fun of this world as long as we live, but really only if we can choose not to go overboard as the consort of our ego.  

Get-rich-quick cannot be our national solution

We all yearn to be well-off for having a comfortable life. In the past this was achieved through time and toil. Now there is a major shift towards getting rich fast. This is a necessary consequence of the industrial revolution where the prevailing ethos was production without conscience -- with no thought as to whether there was a social necessity for all that production. Proponents would argue that the more that is produced the more the have-nots will have. Opponents would argue that it is not true -- the trickle-down theory is not valid; and the industrialists' concern remains the bottom line. At the end of the day the motive is to have the maximum income.

Thus in this rush for production and wealth generation through the market mechanism that panders to the ego of the human being, we lose sight of the old adage "necessity is the mother of invention" perhaps this has its vestiges still relevant but with the invention of the capitalist model it has always been about maximizing profit and getting rich quickly -- by selling the products to those who don't really need these. The marketing profession has made it their perfected art to sell to the gullible customer, by the sweetness of their marketing jargon and images, what we don’t need. We witness this everyday on television, on bill boards and social events and now splashed too on social media. Who really needs the killer cigarettes or the expensive coffees and cars or the designer clothes?  What would happen to us if we don't have them? Certainly we will be healthier in mind and body! But the ego within us doesn't listen to that. It makes us believe that the competitive spirit within us is legitimate and good for us. With such an inflated false-self dominating us, the little voice inside us of the primeval conscience we were born with has the "chance of a snowball in hell", which means absolutely no chance at all!

So the advert on television wins our hearts. We want to be the Marlboro man or take that exotic trip on the Camel to our death. How foolish we are is realized only too late when death and destruction meet us in the end.

So this desire to get rich for the wrong purpose is the source of the evil that we see in our world. It has made us upset the benevolent equilibrium Providence has bestowed on us for living our lives in harmony and we are seeking to blindly find our balance again but not finding it in this turbulent sea of materialism, selfishness and greed. We yearn to get rich quick and then hope to live the rest of our lives in hedonism. What is then the future of the next generation?  Will we give it space for it to grow in sustainable ways or will we strengthen our selfish vantage further? If we seek to go on with abandon along this our chosen path, should we not feel the piercing guilt of betraying the trust we assume from our unborn children by our decision to have borrowed this moment from them, to create mischief on earth?

Our nation Maldives has been thrust into this tumult headlong, and as a small nation of people these new ideals catch on like wild fire and it will burn our house down only too fast to be aware of what is happening. That sinister process is happening even as we sit ensconced in our momentary luxury and social inebriation to these vibrations that are growing. 

Impatience is the driver of selfishness.

When one is satisfied, and as they say in the flow of life, there is no need for impatience. This emotion of impatience in us whenever it arises indicates that we are not satisfied and are not in harmony with the vibrations of the universal mind. And that is the discomfort we feel when we are in the lap of impatience. When we are with our loved ones, and true like-minded friends we don't seem to want to be in a hurry. Thus there is something about impatience that must tell us we are exercising the sprouting of selfishness in us. This is the spiritual truth.

We all have experienced being in a line waiting for a movie ticket, at the groceries, at a self-service restaurant, at the airport immigration counter or in lines for the receipt of free-bees; or even in virtual lines created for the hand-outs of community housing, flats, or even tourist resorts. The anxiety of impatience can be felt when we are in a hurry, or in the throes of selfish emotions that arise because of the lack of supply which might run out by the time the line reaches our turn. Selfish motives inevitably move to shunt the line and get what we want out-of-turn. So increasingly in our societies, as greed and avarice take hold, many jump the line only too frequently revealing that selfish desire to have us serviced with favor. And sure as day, those who harbor such selfishness will use that approach to full advantage when they do have the categorical power to do so, to the extent of implying to others that such considered impunity may not be impunity for them after all. 

Nothing is as insidious as the feeling of impatience if allowed to grow. It will consume us, a community, and even a whole nation before we know it, for this feeling grows ever so deceptively indeed. That is why we need to actively learn to be patient. Communities that learn to be patient will thrive as safe, secure, caring and loving societies. And that must surely be the purpose of good governance and good nationhood. That is why our good Book in Soorah Al-Asr exhorts us to patience so pointedly.

Empowering democracy

Democracy is not about giving things but giving people the dignity that will enable them to hold their heads high. Democracy is about empowerment and freedom. In a crooked sort of way, giving money to people is empowerment. Of course even the job we work at gives us our pay check at the end of the month and it empowers us to live that month through. So why should we not accept money from those who offer it to us without us having to work so hard. 

The difference of course is the sale of our value as opposed to our vice. By earning a fair days work and getting paid for it for the sweat on our brow liberates us, while the taking of money as a commission for immoral services pits us as accomplices in unfair dealings we call criminal and thus imprisons us. So it becomes a curious anomaly that we are swept into such bondage of crime as we attempt to practice this blessing of Democracy. 
My dear reader and fellow citizen of our country and the world, we need to redeem the morality that is our human essence if our world is to survive. Such greed is the basis of physical destruction we see in global warming and our social atmosphere too is melting fast of its accumulated morality like the arctic ice; Just like the physical destruction ravaged by the Asian tsunami, social tsunamis too are sweeping our communities like never before as avarice and greed take their macabre hold.  

We cannot go on fooling ourselves with our heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich thinking that the day of retribution will never come -- here or in the hereafter!

Focusing on the process

Much of life's agonies and anxieties arise from our constant attention to the personal gains we anticipate at the end of our actions rather than on the process of our actions. Spiritual thinking says that where our attention goes is what is energized in us. So it is logical that with that huge investment of our mental energy on the prize at the end of the line we have little energy left to invest in the process. Thus it can only be mediocre efforts we put to the process. The result is that the quality of our work suffers and the outputs too inherit that poor quality determined by what we had put in.

If we can look at our present state of affairs in our Maldives - and without doubt so informed and energized by the influences of the get-rich-quick materialistic world -- we can fathom the depths of social lethargy we are sinking into.

In this present time, the dignity of labour is shunted out of sight as a vestige of the past and everyone seems ready for the clamour to the top whether deserved or not. The focus is only on the prize at the end and HOW we get it is no more the question than THAT we get it.

Unless we can revert to a focus on mindfully performing our work as each person's social responsibility, a time is soon to come when regretful cries will fill our days ahead. To wake up then or watch in lament from another dimension many of us will have by then transited into will not help our children or grandchildren. Let not selfishness, avarice and surely pain as a consequence, be the hallmark of our life in this world!  

Preparing the ground before planting the seed

Lessons from nature abound and when we can observe its workings we can create a sustainable world.

Everything has its gestation time. Our birth and life is a perfect example of an orchestrated chain of events that has its specific time frames. Our time in the womb, our childhood, youth and old age and our life span are all givens of that we can change very little. Yes, technology has its virtues but it can only move by bits and pieces and this takes tremendous energy to maintain. Thus, this cannot be easy or as we call, sustainable.

The ground we plant our seeds also has to be prepared if we want the trees to grow as desired. And true too is the fact that we harvest only what we plant- nothing more nothing less. Yet, they have to be watered and tended to with loving care. Only then will we get the results that we expect. Another truth in regards to this is that success is not in our hands - we have control only of the process. Good process embedded in sincerity ensures success most of the time. 

And not least of all we need to pick the right seeds for planting. Opting for seeds that are not yet mature enough for sprouting a healthy forest or a bountiful harvest should be disastrous and indeed be a waste of valuable time and effort. No farmer in his right mind would ever do that for the hunger and debt he and his family would have to endure subsequently.    

Finding ourselves

As I walk along the crowded streets of Male, I am bewildered by the pace of change in our society. The motorcycles and other vehicles throng our streets and shops laden with all kinds of goods invite excited shoppers and tall buildings sprout like mushrooms after the rain.  Similarly, the pedestrian traffic too along our uneven foot-narrow pavements meander like the river that never was. And yes, even those stepping onto the reverent floors of our mosques during the day increase in drones even though some say that much of that increase may be attributable to our guest workers.

However, my early morning strolls along our then deserted streets indicate a trend of paucity of our locals' spiritual leaning. I gather this from the chatter of the passers-by indicating to me that even in this blessed hour, the voices seem foreign with only the few slouching elders who amble along perhaps after their spiritual obligations to be locals. That may not be totally correct though for yet in this early hour I still spy others too -- strong looking Maldivian youth joggers and sleepy eyed or fully awake others making their way to the jetties to board their vessels that would take them to their jobs at the airport, or the resorts, or a day out on picnic. The dwindling congregation to a row or two at most at the Fajr prayers in most mosques too show this depressing faith only too conspicuously -- here too the building guards and the early-rising-to-work foreign guest workers make half the numbers.

Why is this I ask? Is God no more? Is gratefulness not a part of our obligations? Is all the wonder we see in our midst from the mind-boggling phenomenon of our still expanding universe or the intriguing sustenance of our very physical bodies or the myriad plant life that sprout and die and live again around us all a quirk of a cosmic accident with no universal orchestrator? I wonder why this colossal harmony that exists in the universe not replicable in even our miniscule man-made organizations in this home planet of ours don't ring a bell in our minds. Perhaps ours are just too occupied by the glitter of the world. The universal mind watches and allows us to the leeway of choice. But sadly few realize the profoundness of such choice and seem drowned of the consequences of our action.

Yes, the laden shops, the oversized cars and glitzy bikes that take us nowhere but into our vanity tell the story of this drowning. We can only become aware human beings when we can begin to understand the working of our inside. However when the present trend is all the focus on our outside, the hope of such salvation for our soul seems bleak. Can we get out of this dream from which we will inevitably be awoken in-time?  But when that time happens we will have no time left for choice.