Spirituality advocates simplicity but it is spending that drives the economy. If a majority of the world became genuinely simple, how will the economy run and will that not undermine spirituality since that will undermine peace.

First, I shall explain what I understand by spirituality.Anything that is legal, moral and leads to peace, happiness and equanimity comes under the purview of proactive applied spirituality which emphasizes more on prevention rather than cure . It has more to do with correct thinking since incorrect thinking leads to wrong action and undesirable consequences. It is concerned more to solve problem at the cause level than at the effect level( Running after different types of meditations and divine knowledge).

When a person is not able to solve his problems, he is stressed and runs after Yoga and Meditation. One wonders whether more focus should be on solving the problem or on dealing with after affects and in this context we should try to examine how to reconcile a simple living with the adverse affect that it might have on the economy.

God does not comfort us to make us comfortable but to comfort others; Religious books are full of stuff like helping the needy and one man’s greed being more than other’s needs which was stated by Gandhiji, plato among many others. Arindham chaudhary in his book “Count your chickens before they hatch” refers to a very good teleserial in which a Japanese woman highlighted the Japanese culture and projected a dignified and moral lifestyle preaching simple living and high thinking. The sponsors withdrew the serial because if the consumerist tendencies of people declined because of the serial, it would adversely affect their profitability and thereby, their peace and happiness.

If all of us say today,” Okay, I have enough stuff. From now, on I will only buy the bare necessities”, that would be a disaster for our economy. – Hillary Clinton.

The issue is that even if the majority of people were convinced of the “Simple thinking/high living” philosophy, how does one reconcile this with the fact that it would directly adversely effect the prospects of those companies which run because of the consumerist tendencies of people. It reminds one of a similar phenomena in Cigarettes and Tobaccos which though undesirable from the health point of view are very lucrative from the govt revenue point of view. If a majority of people decide to stay healthy, it would be very desirable economically and this is something one cannot compromise on. On the other hand, where spending is concerned , the Americans believe that it is spending that drives the economy. Other people are of the opinion that saving and Investments but the real answer lies between the two.

All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on behalf of every organism to live beyond his income. – Samuel Butler

The “Greed is good” speech by Gordon Gekko in the movie “Wall street” is obviously directed towards the economy. Even in the Shastras it is written that “Bhog me koi burai nahin hai” . If the greed gets out of control, it breeds corruption which causes the collapse of civilizations such as Persian and the greek civilizations. Even Japan is in trouble and is facing a lot of social problems because of its younger generation blindly aping American culture. How can one ensure that the Greed does not get out of control?

The master of pleasure is not he who abstains from it, but he who uses it without being carried away by it." –Aristippus

All spirituality teaches desire without attachment and this would be the right solution where the spending can also take place and spirituality also maintained. It is of course upto the people concerned whether their motives are true or not. Only blind desire is undesirable but desire without attachment cannot be deemed wrong.

When one considers that one third of the top fortune500 companies lost their positions within a span of a decade, out of top 50 families since independence only 7 are surviving and post liberalization the several top companies have lost their places in the top 100, one has to be extremely frugal in any case. No job or Business is secure in the 21st century.

Even in the Darshan Shatras it is given that unless pure and noble people ensure reasonable equality of wealth , ending social strife is a pipe dream. There are 5 lakh villages in India and 6 lakh villages. If each company takes over the development of only one village, it can go a long way in alleviating poverty. In a similar way on an individual level, the only way out is to use the excess funds for voluntary work with the members of the donors actively participating in the social work if possible . That would be a good example of proactive applied spirituality.