tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post2145610355773211594..comments2024-03-11T22:00:04.309-07:00Comments on Life and Spirituality : The Paradox of Modern Life and Economy Ashok http://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-20192071786032591292011-01-30T21:50:15.531-08:002011-01-30T21:50:15.531-08:00or perhaps "sad". It is very sad if a pe...or perhaps "sad". It is very sad if a person is palced in a position to beg. Ashok https://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-82192576939117965572011-01-30T19:08:57.762-08:002011-01-30T19:08:57.762-08:00Vincent, I am considering replacing the word '...Vincent, I am considering replacing the word 'despicable' by unfortunate in the post. Would that be OK ? Ashok https://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-76638957187317666942011-01-30T07:18:22.273-08:002011-01-30T07:18:22.273-08:00There I agree with you Vincent. begging is far les...There I agree with you Vincent. begging is far less harmful compared to many other insidious ways in which supposedly some respectable persons make money in the world. When such money is made by a leader of the coutry, say for example Egypt, it causes immense misery to millions of persons that includes young children, infants the old and the helpless. Compared to all that begging is perhaps no more than a case of bad manners or poor practice. I should have used a less harsh word for it. Ashok https://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-89100168307157704932011-01-30T06:46:42.508-08:002011-01-30T06:46:42.508-08:00Distribution of wealth, I meant.Distribution of wealth, I meant.Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-63659883194190801382011-01-30T06:46:14.478-08:002011-01-30T06:46:14.478-08:00You mention that begging is despicable, which soun...You mention that begging is despicable, which sounds harsh to me. It may be one of the most harmless forms of distribution there is, to the one who gives and the one who receives. Compared with prostitution and drug-dealing, for example, it is positively honourable. Not to mention many ways those higher up in society earn their living, ways which give no benefit at all to the world and may cause great suffering.Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-39304564568265864212011-01-30T05:34:26.191-08:002011-01-30T05:34:26.191-08:00As always there is a dark side and a bright side t...As always there is a dark side and a bright side to life Vincent wether it is a rural life or an urban one. The advantages and problems of each are different. Ashok https://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-84231940462755707282011-01-30T05:32:07.297-08:002011-01-30T05:32:07.297-08:00Yes Vincent I know about that. I follow all the na...Yes Vincent I know about that. I follow all the national news regularly. I have mentioned it in my post - as those who took debt. These were indebted farmers in certain regions where climate failed them, their debt grew and they committed suicide. It is a very sad situation even though limited to certain specific areas in the country.<br /><br />However, my reference was to the majority. It is also not that there were not an equally large number of suicides in the city, some for other reasons, some more distressing. Ashok https://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-59172619364078450162011-01-30T02:38:28.236-08:002011-01-30T02:38:28.236-08:00As for your idyllic portrait of country life, Asho...As for your idyllic portrait of country life, Ashok, another blogger also from India, is as worried as you about the effect of the world economic situation. But he points out the number of suicides by Indian farmers: more than 2 million since 1997. <a href="http://whitesroad.blogspot.com/2011/01/no-more-smiles.html" rel="nofollow">See this post</a>.Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-84265581600678542942011-01-30T02:34:50.151-08:002011-01-30T02:34:50.151-08:00I wrote a long response, and it was lost. Oh well....I wrote a long response, and it was lost. Oh well. Good piece, good discussion.Vincenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18297306807695767580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-70703603085294762322011-01-29T23:00:13.193-08:002011-01-29T23:00:13.193-08:00John, for the homeless getting charged for crimina...John, for the homeless getting charged for criminal loitering repeatedly and ending up in prison may not be such a bad deal. I hear the conditions in American prisons are great with free board, lodging and entertainment for which the rest of the population pays. Ashok https://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-41452944518569787662011-01-29T22:57:37.163-08:002011-01-29T22:57:37.163-08:00Thanks John for your encouraging comments. Yes the...Thanks John for your encouraging comments. Yes these questions need to be thought about much more deeply. At one time communists had brain washed entire populations. When that model failed people began to question it and overcame the brainwashing. Perhaps we too are to an extent brainwashed by other systems, at least partially. Ashok https://www.blogger.com/profile/13678997673056672234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292614577950697575.post-1117003637484544372011-01-29T22:29:17.498-08:002011-01-29T22:29:17.498-08:00Very interesting article, sir. If I were to summar...Very interesting article, sir. If I were to summarize it in one sentence, it would be this: “Recession is sustainable.” <br /><br />Curtis White published a very good analysis of sustainability “A Good without Light,” where he argued that one should not seek sustainability at all. Anything we are having trouble sustaining should be a target of reduced consumption, he said. If we are running out of oil, then stop relying on the processes that need oil instead of looking for alternative energy. After reading the first few pages, I was prepared to debate, but by the time I got to the end, I was almost convinced: almost, but not, as the theory is impractical. <br /><br />Your article reminded me of that a little bit. Very good, and very thought-provoking, but in America not completely practical. To compete globally, we must not live in a recessed state. Thus, we must have ways to not fall into recession and at once sustain ourselves, which means alternative resources. Of course that is a religious argument on my part, because we could simply say that to the degree competing means racing toward an environmental dead end, it is not true sustainable competition, but either a selfish goal designed to financially enrich us and pass the true cost to our descendents, or an illusion entirely. Even as I disagree with you, I find myself starting to agree with your position more than I do mine. <br /><br />“It is better for such persons to return to the land and make a simple living out of it.” In American, a homeless person cannot do this, as he has no place to exist. He cannot put up a tent on a plot of land. All land is spoken for, either by the government or a private citizen, and the person who owns no property must pay for the air he breathes. His existence in America is criminal, loitering, unless he is paying someone. <br /><br />All of that said, I find the article very intelligent and one of those pieces that will probably cause me to change my impromptu opinion of it every time I return. <br /><br />Well done, sir.John Mystehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16263634313238599515noreply@blogger.com