So here's the actual question: Is there any reason to regard the word 'Materialistic' as purposive of the associated meaning?
or to put it plainly, What is Materialism?
Now, this is of course not for me to lecture about since i really know nothing about most things in this world/Universe/whatever be that superset in question.
Friend' argues that any materialistic comfort/pleasure that be obtained in the US can also be done so in India and to him that was the clenching argument to our discussion last night.
BUt i think the rabbit hole is a bit deeper here since it begs the question," What constitutes Materialism?"
Take a refridgerator for instance. Is it a luxury item? certainly not,(i should know more so since i have been at the receving end of having once,albeit ignorantly consumed food that had gone stale, despite the fridge) since it has become a means of storage. so it is regarded as necessity by most of us and is not to be bracketted as a luxury product.
But would i call having a fridge a materialistic comfort?
In real philosophical terms,the answer is(should be) yes. Friend' also would agree here.
one could now start listing all the new-end products from Apple here and term all of those materialistic and now it becomes apparent that this is not going to answer the question, 'what constitutes materialism?' that quickly. at least, not in terms of time.
i think a better way around is to start looking at what is certainly not materialistic.
one often hears these comments, " what one really seeks is not the pleasures of the flesh
or the derivaties of money. Real pleasure is looking at sunrise from the top of a hill or watching animals skip by in a meadow" or whatever.
Certainly the kind of imagery that is dreamt up here evokes very warm feelings in most of us. But then, you are talking of those things after having all the things you have now. You certainly need a nice car that takes you to that high hill and probably would love to listen to MS's voice with the suprabhatam in the morning. It is certainly a different kind of pleasure from say, going to a nightclub, but that is also materialism.
most people would certainly hate to look at the sun rising from on top that same wonderful hill when on an empty stomach or when they have to walk all the way up that hill, or stay out in the wilderness for a week. In that case, most of us would only complain of the lack of sanitary amenities, the pestering mosquitoes and of course, that blasted #$%^& sun that woke you up just when you were considering reconciliation with the mosquitoes.
In short, you are away from your usual life and that is certainly not to your liking. This is again an instance of materialism.
I have not been very fussy about my requirements during my student life in india. i have lived in very terrible rooms, had hoplessly bad sanitation facilities, travelled uncomfortably and unsafely(simultaneous on some occasions) and so on, so i could possibly say that my adaptability to new environment is not to be classified as fussy.
But after 5 yrs of living in the US, i could certainly not do any of the aforementioned. Not because i have the money to spend and am from the US! But because certain things are now taken for granted when living here in the US; despite all those terrible temperatures in winter, there is extreme comfort inside a car, building apartment or wherever. These are not luxuries, but necessities in this country.
Something becomes a necessity when you get used to that so much that getting out of it seems (possibly for some time,maybe even an year or two) insurmountable.
most people in india have not been exposed to certain comforts; i remember distinctly, our housemaid in india lamenting about the terrible heat in summer and how our place was so mcuh cooler. personally i thought our place was a furnace but then realised that we were speaking in relative terms-she had no fan at home.
now to most earning people, this is a necessity in india but to people like that poor lady, it was still a luxury. So if we are to term something as materialistic or not without getting relative about it, it is necessary to include all these under the blanket of materialism as well.
so then what would constitute non-materialism?
i would say-an indifference to the above. Now i am not saying that a non-materialistic person doesn't find chennai hot or sweltering. probably does, but then (s)he might considering walking out of chennai to survive the onslaught of the summer there.
That almost sounds like ascetism doesn't it?
Friend' wanting to live in chennai again is materialism.
i am certainly materialistic going by that count and i don't deny it at all. I would find it unbearable now to live without the internet!
But when i find a person sitting on a comfortable kashmiri rug in temperature controlled environs with the sweet smell of camphor wafting through the air, talk of the pleasures of non-materialism, i feel like saying, man, give me a break!
is nonmaterialism really on the path to spirituality? i don't know-maybe it is or maybe it is simply self-denial for no good 'reason'. maybe someday one might find these better answers to these questions.
Till tehni shall invoke the principle of 'Mu'-a buddhist Zen philosophy that 'unasks' questions. Why trouble your head asking these questions?!