Materialism and spirituality

In the West, what is typically on display is an individualistic and materialistic way of life. Success is often defined in a comparative way, "How well am I doing relative to others?". There is a strong identification with conditional happiness, namely "I will be happy when x or y happens to me. " People develop coping strategies in such an environment like avoiding certain people and clinging onto others, avoiding certain occupations deemed unworthy while flocking en-masse to do others and so on. Behavioural dynamics of attraction and aversion are at play in most spheres of life, such as employment, holiday plans, partners, friends, nutrition and others. This is a perfect breeding ground for jealousy, comparative-based thinking and competitiveness to develop. Even if we succeed at playing by these rules and amass fortune, an inevitable sense of insecurity arises out of fear of losing what have and the people dear to us. Competitive societal dynamics have been observed for thousands of years. An ancient Pali poem, attributed to the Buddha, states [1]:

"Seeing creatures flopping around,

Like fish in water too shallow,

So hostile to one another!"

Is this really how society will interact with one another throughout the entire existence of humanity? It appears that there has been little societal evolution in the last 2500 years since this Pali poem was first written. Is this way of thinking helpful and does it allow us to fully flourish in life?

Spirituality offers an alternative to the competitive-based mindset. There are many ways to approach spirituality. Spirituality is a wide-ranging concept. In classical terms, it is used to refer to a relationship with a god. In the past century, humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions are being blended, to inspire positive transformation, offer a journey of self-understanding, development and growth [2]. Herman Hesse, a Swiss-German novelist, wrote a profound and insightful book on self-discovery and self-development called Siddhartha. A literary review of Siddhartha [3] eloquently summarises its value in:

"highlighting the differences between the proponents of the western traditions of cynicism, fatalism, and existentialism, and the westerners who have looked to the east for spiritual awakening, those who want more out of life, seek more out of each daily activity and force themselves to see more in small things."

Siddhartha goes on a quest to find deeper life meaning. Through a series of adventures, Siddhartha gradually awakens to the deeper truths of reality. Themes of the book include how to be present in the moment and embrace it without grasping, without aversion. This does not mean to stop doing or caring about what we do, just to relate to it differently.

Spirituality can help one become more acceptant of the world, its shortcoming and to re-consider their values. Thinking about spirituality can help one to redefine their motivations and behaviours and to be less susceptible to following the main stream patterns of thought and behaviour. Spirituality is an intimate topic and it is healthy to spend time to think about one's core beliefs. Spirituality has helped me to become less competitive, more reflective, more principled, altruistic, more awake and present in my physical body and ultimately more healthy.

[1] ‘Attadanda Sutta: Arming Oneself’. Accessed 11 November 2024. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.4.15.olen.html.

[2] ‘The Spiritual Turn and the Decline of Tradition: The Spread of Post‐Christian Spirituality in 14 Western Countries, 1981–2000 - HOUTMAN - 2007 - Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion - Wiley Online Library’. Accessed 11 November 2024. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2007.00360.x.

[3] Christen, Louisa. ‘Lessons from Literature: Siddhartha’. The Georgetown Voice, 13 October 2016. https://georgetownvoice.com/2016/10/13/lessons-from-literature-siddhartha/.