“Swamiji, do you mean materialism is a poison?”
“On the contrary,” said the seer as his face lighted up, “it turned out to be the narcotic of the downtrodden. Never in the annals of mankind did the meek have as good as in our materialistic times. Lacking in intellect and devoid of wealth, the multitude of humanity existed subhuman all along. Mercifully now, materialism enables them access to the goodies of life to fill up their alter egos. In that way, the majority of the populace have hit the highway of betterment.”
“Swamiji, it’s a new perception really!”
“But, the intellectual and the talented that are capable of experiencing the richness of life without wealth have come to naught,” the seer said, pained at that thought. “With their hurt egos at being slighted by the material minded, they tend to join the arthic bandwagon. The fall of these is the bane of today’s world. What is worse, their arthic greed has come to goad them to abuse their positions for self-aggrandizement. The corrupt tune they set for the materialistic culture became the hymn of humanity. It’s the tragedy of our times that the endowed get condemned in the new order.”
“What’s the dharma for their mokshaswamiji?”
“What with the advancement of science and the availability of knowledge,” said the swamiji, “they are in a vantage position to shape their dharma to journey their lives in the carriage of cushions. But unfortunately most let jealousy hurt their joy ride. And that hurts their sense of bliss.”
“Can one ever overcome jealousy,” said Gautam, “when it’s man’s second nature?”
“On the contrary, I see jealousy as something alien to human nature,” said the swamiji to Gautam’s utter surprise. “Jealousy is but a manifestation of artha’s corruptive influence on man which in due course became the insurmountable hurdle for him on the path of moksha. It is in man’s power to curtail it to manage his passage to moksha. One needs only to understand the physics of jealousy to appreciate the chemistry of its affects on human nature.”
“Swamiji, with due regards to your profound wisdom,” said Gautam, “artha might be the abettor of jealousy but how could it be its source?”
“It is so simple dear,” said the seer with all affection. “Isn’t our persona fundamental to our identity? Don’t we come to accept the way we look? A Narcissus amongst us might even end up being in love with the way he was made. Would her handsome cousin give the plain lass any sleepless nights on that score? Won’t thus our self-love shield us from the perils of jealousy when it comes to how we are shaped? Why is that the neighbor’s delectable spouse is not so much a source of envy as it is an object of desire? Does that not prove that jealousy is not inherent to human nature?”