'Greater Common Good'

The most important principle which is operative in corporate endeavors and production and service sectors is undoubtedly 'profit'. Everything is geared towards accruing greater profit. The people who had invested a lot of money wish to make more money, several times more than what they had invested. The 'business' people do not care for what happens to the rest of humanity, so long their purses are full. But the law of nature prescribes that every attempt to have 'profit' is bound to deprive some deserving person from his/her share of due wealth.

Unfortunately in most of the countries, the political leaders belong to the cream of the society, who have the least experience of the poverty, sweat and blood of the poor, who earn wealth for the nation. Depriving the voiceless masses is seen in almost all the nations, rich or poor. It happens in the South African countries, in the developing Third World countries, and in the developed nations too. The concerns of the poor and the majority most often do not appear in the national agenda; it is only the interests of the moneyed and muscled men and women who control the policies of development.

India had so many instances where the political bigwigs had been pushing so-called developmental projects (supposedly at the greater interests of the masses!), which deprived the poor farmers their ancestral lands, the water, forests, rivers, and the community. The fight for the holy river Narmada by Mehta Patkar and her Narmada Banchao Andolan is just the tip of an iceberg. There are projects which are aimed at displacing thousands of people, without proper rehabilitation and infrastructural facilities. Some years ago I had the privilege of witnessing what the people who would lose Narmada riverbed were going through.

Today the phrase 'greater common good' has become a mockery. One would hear this phrase repeated again and again at all political platforms, at every election campaigns, and it has become a cliche today. But then who cares? The people who sponsor the election campaigns and political meetings and rallies would have their pound of flesh by hook or by crook, and no one can stop them from doing it. The state machinery would in fact, stand by them to make sure that no one lays his/her hands on them. That is the state we have reached in the country.

In order to live a happy life, we do not need to worry about profits! Anyone who has the profit motive in business is bound to guided by greed and selfishness, which would lead him/her to take recourse to any social and moral evil, which may be justified before a court of law. I would like to consider for a while how I respond to the genuine yearnings of the people of the land. Am I able to feel their pain and agony; their tears and blood, and cry for their fundamental human rights. If the state denies these, then where could they take refuge?

Fall for Freebies

It has become customary these days for popular commercial brands to offer freebies in order to attract and woe customers. Buy two get one free is often the slogan that goes round the commercial houses, and that is what makes people to rush for them, irrespective of the price tag that these products carry. In fact, our human mentality is such that we would be attracted to the freebies more than the quality of the product or the price tag, which for the most part would be far more than the normal price. And sure enough, manufacturing houses and industries have been making use of the gullible human sensibilities in order to reap a rich harvest of profit and benefit. It is beyond the understanding of common people to think that by going for freebies they are in fact paying much more than their normal price.

Bonus is another such concept which employees often look forward to with keen interest, because this is something that they receive as extra. It is this little bit of extra that can boost their morale and strengthen their commitment to an institution. To come back to freebies, often in the advertisements for products, it is the freebies that take more space, and they are advertised as if as a customer you would receive far more than what you are paying for, and the freebies are given indeed freely. But it does not take us more time to realise that we are most of the time duped by these people. No firm will go all out to give things freely, in incur a great loss in their profit. This is one thing that we need to realise when we are attracted to freebies.

In fact we need to take seriously anything that comes to us as "extra"; unfortunately in many of the countries bribe is an accepted phenomenon, so much so no work will proceed unless you pay that extra under the table! Needless to say in many cases, people think that they are entitled to these extra, which is far more than their official salary or remuneration, because they are either under-paid or they cannot make both ends meet with their salary. We may not even know that any attempt to look for avenues to make a little extra income is the gateway to greed. Even if the chances of being caught are very thin, still one may have to carry the burden of using unlawful means to make a living, will prick one's conscience all through one's life.

Anything free comes with a huge concealed price-tag, though it may not be so very conspicuous at the first sight. But the discerning minds would not fail to notice that 'free' means it has a hidden agenda beneath it, or a hook to trick you. So I am not to be excessively attracted to anything that comes free. After all, why should any one do something for me free of cost, or give something just for nothing! Rarely do we come across persons, who do something good for us or give us something precious out of sheer good will. But in that case, it may not be too hard to find out their hidden motives. Some might do it habitually in order to curry favor in future, and some others may let the small fish be eaten, in order to catch a bigger fish.

Today I pause for a while and see for myself who are the persons whom I make use of for my personal benefit or welfare; or what are the situations and events when I look for 'freebies' to satisfy my own needs, or give away freebies in order to hook someone. Sometimes I am thrown in a situation when it is too hard for me to get anything done through the normal course of action, and it is only giving something under the table which would free me from all unnecessary tension; what am I to do in such situations? To bear the consequences, or just give away something in order to buy peace of mind? It is a hard and bitter choice that we are called to make often in life. But the conflict in the heart is worth going through, so that when it is my turn to give, I don't demand from others what I myself hate to give as a 'gift'!