What does simply living really mean?
Answer Podcast:
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Transcriber: Dr Suresh Gupta
Edited by: Sharan Shetty
Question: What does simple living really mean?
Answer: Simple living primarily means living which does not agitate our minds. Simple living does not mean that everybody has to live without material conveniences or latest gadgets.
To understand the point, we can consider the example of one’s capacity to carry weight. For Person A, the weight lifting capacity maybe ten kg whereas for Person B it maybe twenty kg. Person B might be able to lift fifteen kg easily, twenty kg with little difficulty, twenty-five kg with great difficulty and thirty kg without any success. Similarly, the idea of simple living will be different for different people. What level of responsibility and material prosperity will disproportionately complicate our life will vary from person to person.
One of the problems with modern society is that it imposes same definition of success on everyone. Everybody is evaluated on the basis of the zeroes on their salary cheques, the size of their house, the price tag on their clothes, the number of cars they own etc. It is important to understand that different people are of different natures and if the same definition of success is imposed on everyone then people are unnecessarily brought under pressure which leads to severe problems of inferiority complex, depression, anxiety etc. Therefore, simple living essentially means living in a way which does not agitate our mind, and which helps one pursue one’s goals in life at a level that does not cause them stress.
Ideally speaking, simple living will vary from person to person. Important thing to know is that simplicity is not defined in terms of more possessions or lack of possessions. It is defined in terms of internal priority. If we are internally burdened, then it means we need to externally simplify our way. This is the primary criteria by which we can understand the meaning of simple living.
End of transcription.