). One who has a job keeps complaining about the exploitation and meaninglessness there. And one who doesn't have a job sees getting a job as the only path for survival. In the following paras we will try to look closely at this situation of "job dependence" in the light of Madhyasth Darshan.
It is clear that people in urban and metropolitan cities are more affected by job dependence. Paras Bhai - our assistant in "Shanti Van", Amora - has nine children (till last count!), and I am always amused seeing how less affected he is from these pressures. Job dependence is clearly a fallout of modernity, it is being shamelessly perpetuated by modern education. It has affected me, is affecting me - and I am seeking its resolution at present.
Prosperity can overcome job dependence only when whatever one was getting from the job is "meaningfully" achieved through the new way. Let us look into what a job gives.
1. Sense of Identity
2. Security
3. Structured life
4. Society's Acceptance
5. Interaction with like-minded people
6. Sense of accomplishment
1. Sense of Identity: People identity with their jobs. They prefix or suffix their names with their ranks in the job - Brigadiar Venkateshwar Naidu, Suresh Kumar IAS, etc. If we ask anyone - who are you? The answer comes - I am a teacher, I am a doctor, I am a software engineer or I am police officer... Jobs give a sense of identity (pehchan) - as that is the way one identifies oneself and that is the way others recognize him. This sense of identity is till the time one has the job, or continuity in the job is not threatened. It's not uncommon for people to have identity crisis when they lose their jobs or when they retire.
2.
Security: Jobs are insecure, by nature. It needs no elaboration. Some people argue that public sector jobs are secure (which in turn means that one will not get fired even if one didn't work there). Private sector jobs are blatantly profit oriented, and non performance here means loss of job, sooner or later. Though it is not uncommon to see lethargy, disobedience, absenteeism in private jobs also. The jobs are designed on "carrot and stick" metaphor or with use of fear and incentive. Still the fact remains that jobs give the sense of security which comes from a regular paycheck, health insurance, provident fund, gratuity etc.
3.
Structured Life: Jobs give a certain structure or routine to life. Five to six days a week, 40 to 60 hours per week, 8:30 AM to 6 PM... They have a discipline (some jobs being more flexible than others), which gives a sense of orderliness in life. One would wear a clean shirt, polish his shoes, board a bus or train, work for certain hours, have lunch and tea breaks, come back home in the evening reading newspaper or something. This structure, routine and discipline seems to be a good thing to start with, but to most people it starts getting to their nerves, work places start seeming like jails and one starts seeking escapes from this structured life, physically and mentally. Still the fact remains that jobs give structured life which is demanded or expected by the employer.
4.
Society's Acceptance: Society of present day approves people with jobs. A well paying job is considered as a prerequisite for marriage, specifically in India. Loss of job is associated with stigma, a blot on career, if not one's life! I have seen that people with salaried jobs, of whatever content, have more social acceptance than the ones who earn their livelihood by physical labor. Still the fact remains that having a job ensures an overall approval in one's family and society at large.
5.
Interaction with like-minded people: Job gives an opportunity for interacting with people of similar background. During lunch and coffee breaks people meet and share their joys and sorrows. It is also true that these interactions are very superficial. I have seen one instance where two people working in the same room, only few meters apart, for five long years, never talked to each other, until the day one of them came to say goodbye when he was quitting his job! Still the fact remains that jobs provide the space for people to come together.
6.
Sense of Accomplishment: Jobs are for getting some work done. And when a work is done, there is a sense of accomplishment. The appreciation from boss, approval from colleagues, rewards and bonuses - all these give a sense of accomplishment, which feel good! Very often one is unable to relate to the accomplishments on the job and the rewards don't enthuse, at other times - one finds content of the job to be meaningless, so even if one accomplishes something there, it doesn't fill one with joy. Still the fact remains, jobs give some goals to be achieved to people, which when achieved give a sense of accomplishment.
Following is my understanding about how "
shram se samriddhi" meaningfully achieves what one seems to be getting from jobs. While we need to be clear that Prosperity (
samriddhi) is not possible to achieve before Resolution (
samadhan), we need to also be clear about the meaning of Prosperity for becoming resolved.
1.
Meaningful Participation: Prosperity is for participating in the society in a meaningful way. This participation includes one's skills and abilities. Someone could be a doctor, other could be a teacher, yet another could be a farmer. Participation (
bhagidari) is different from job. Participation is a spontaneous expression of a human being, while job is... a job!
2.
Assurance: Assurance is to never become insecure for money or aspects related to material things. It is not indifference to material, instead getting the sense of assurance (for material aspects) from one's skills and absolute trust in the laws of nature. This is not minimalist approach, or the one in which you try to live with compromises with whatever little means you have got. It is not that at all... It is first determining what and how much you want, and add something extra for the good measure, and then make a realistic plan along with the people involved for achieving it, and then execute that plan methodically. The money and resources are not wasted, but one takes care of them and makes good use of them. The kind of assurance that one gets this way is not a fragile one, and something which the security of regular paycheck of a well paying job cannot match. We humans
naturally expect assurance of prosperity, which jobs don't offer.
3.
Rhythm: It is the rhythm, and not structure that we need in our day to day life. Rhythm is with comprehension of the status of those around you, it is moving with them, dynamically changing the route, while still keeping the commitment. It is very different from mindless adherence to the clock that the discipline of the job dictates. Rhythm brings the quality of dance in our day to day living ("bounce in the step and song on the lips", as they say!), which structured life of job cannot match.
Another thing which I observed, job divides one's living into two halves, which we can call as "Work" and "Life" - where Work is to Earn, and Life is to have Fun. One keeps trying to arrive at work-life balance and there is always a struggle. The model of living with
samadhan-samriddhi doesn't have this division.
4.
Inspiration to Society: It is not mere approval that we seek from our society, what we truly want is to be a source of genuine inspiration for the society - be a source of pride for our elders and a source of guidance for young ones. Resolved and Prosperous living is truly inspirational to society, to the next generation, which is more than acceptance that one gets from society because of having a job.
5.
Justice in Relationships: It is not the huddle of fear that we need from our fellow human beings, what we truly want is justice in our relationships, where both sides are fulfilled from each other as a result of understanding of purpose of their relationship. Justice is much more than transactional interaction among like-minded people.
6.
Sense of Abundance: Prosperity is to have continuous sense of abundance, which is not dependent on some project's or task's completion. The sense of accomplishment that one gets in getting the work done in jobs doesn't match the unconditional sense of abundance of a prosperous family.
Overcoming the job dependence is not going to happen overnight. It will require initiative and patience. As I had written
earlier once, it is better to take the approach of "make before break" - where you try to erect the alternative while still being on the job. I think, there is a need for having an collaborative effort here. For one family to be prosperous, we require more than one families becoming prosperous. When others joined along with our efforts of setting up our field, we got a lot of momentum. They benefited from our learning and we from theirs. The design and scale of
samriddhi will not be same for everyone. It will vary from family to family - while each design and scale will be anchored on self reliance and
samadhan. I think, we need to work with both the goals -
samadhan and
samriddhi - side by side. It is a pity that so many of us feel miserable in our jobs everyday, longing to break free, but not knowing what to do, where to go. I feel that we can now focus our efforts and collaborate to win.
The reality of living with
samadhan and
samriddhi for our families is going to be built from the raw material of our reality of today. We can start taking steps towards it today, for unless we walk the path, how would we ever reach it? Following are some of the things which we are doing, and are trying to do. Each family will have its own specific course, so this is not a prescription. We find that these steps are useful for making a conducive environment for
adhyayan. The circumstances would vary from person to person, family to family - yet there could be similarities and possibilities of learning from each other. We would like to learn your steps.
1.
Simplify Living: - We observed there is a lot of scope for removing clutter from our lives. There was a lot of unnecessary baggage that we were carrying. Books that we won't ever read now. The clothes that don't fit anymore. Electrical and electronics goods that were lying in disrepair. Things that need to be repaired, recycled, renounced... Simplify, Simplify, Simplify... It helps!
2.
Living Forever: - The lifestyle design of
samadhan-samriddhi addresses "living forever". It is not just about planning for house, retirement, children's education and wedding etc only. I observed Baba ji, in this age of 94 years, takes active interest in orchard planning. The resolved thinking is neither short-term nor long-term, it is forever-term! Forever-term thinking and planning includes the short-term and long-term. We can take steps towards the design of "living forever" by coming out of the money economy in as many aspects of living (like food, housing, power generation, health, education, ... ) as possible. We can surprise ourselves how much progress we can make in 4-5 years! The ultimate vision of "living forever" is in the form of "tradition of humanness" (
manveeya parampara).
3.
Physical Labor: - Modern education makes people averse to physical labor (
shram) and production (
utpadan). I am a product of modern education myself, and I can say that for myself. "
samajhdari se samadhan, shram se samriddhi" is the mantra here! Physical labor and production needs to be seen in the positive light. What can I do with my hands? Who all worked on the things which I am using, and what is my contribution? Physical labor (
shram) is the currency for doing exchange (
vinimaya) among human beings.
4.
Family First: - Family is the basis of orderliness in humankind. The repair and renewal of family relationships is the first step towards living with
samadhan-samriddhi. A human being needs other human beings to live, to be listened, to be cared, and to be nurtured. It is possible to determine material needs definitively only in a family. A lone individual cannot determine how much will be enough for him? It will not satisfy anyone if some dictator or some government determines this for all its people. Each family has to arrive at its own requirements for its sustenance and for its participation in society. Each family has to have a shared dream for its living with
samadhan-
samriddhi.