Curse in Disguise: Dr. Shriniwas Kashalikar
Just as there is Blessing is Disguise, there is also a thing called Curse in Disguise! Most of the people in businesses bringing quick money and fame; such as advertisement, movies, TV serials, and now a days even consumers, have to go through this malady of Curse in Disguise!
There is a systematic marketing of products to prevent and avert non-existing fear, bad look, dark skin, poverty, death and so on. There is also marketing to sell counterproductive luxury, mean excitement and dehumanizing glamour. For example, fear of ghee, coconut oil, un-iodized salt, Bengal gram, earthen pots and so on!
The insurance companies, medical businesses, cosmetic and so many other industries (including sectarian and malicious doctrines and politics) thrive on this. Many so called medical and similar associations extract a share from such looting activities.
But financial gains resulting from sick minded endeavors invariably lead to pandemic spread of dissatisfaction, disturbance, degeneration, disease and decay of individual and global life and merely bloat your ego sickeningly beyond a limit. You do not grow strong but actually get weaker and hollow from within! You tend to become self centered and self righteous! Most importantly you tend to speak anything because you are heard and your pseudo-leadership tends to elude, misguide and ditch the naïve and gullible people! Not only that, when your false glory fades you tend to bask in that past false glory and that makes you even more miserable and pitiable!
This point should be clear to consumers as well!
Most of us think that consumer interest is restricted merely to quality production, appropriate preservation, proper transportation, fair exchange and fidelity in advertising. This view point; which is supported all over the world; and enjoys moral and ethical supremacy; is not merely incorrect; but not being non-holistic it is disastrous also!
As a consumer in any given place or field, we should be aware of the needs or plights of the other consumers in the world and other fields of life. We can not be balanced, objective and holistic in the absence of such awareness. In fact such lack awareness tends to make consumer movements selfish, short sighted, and harmful to many while serving the petty interests and vested interests of few.
The major issues such as environmental protection, proper and productive education, housing, holistic health, agriculture, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, handling of droughts, famines, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, nuclear proliferation and development of harmony and brotherhood have to be involved in consumer movements! With narrow, selfish, short sighted, mean and callous perspective, of mere material financial gains and utility you seem to gain materially, but ultimately you will be the dejected loser, in every possible way.
Hence, all businesses bringing quick money and fame; such as advertisement, movies, TV serials and so on, and consumer movements, have to be coupled with perspective of global welfare (the essence of which is explained in my books) as a result of which balanced and accurate policies, plans, decisions, administrative efforts and implementation at global and local level can be evolved. Wouldn’t you like to live with choicest activity that builds your self esteem?
It is said that such buoyant and blissful life is possible with Namasmaran. One may try and verify it.