Most people nowadays are materialistic: they live to seek materialistic sensations and possessions. 

Yet most of them haven’t thought through the philosophical implications of materialism. If matter is all that matters, then what is the significance of the emotions of joy and love that they seek through their materialistic pursuits? Where do those emotions come from? Merely from the white and grey matter of their brains? Is generating enjoyable electrochemical pulses in our brain cells the purpose of life? Is the love a mother feels for her newborn baby nothing but some electricity zipping through her cranial cavity? Materialism reduces us to a number; a materialistic worldview implies that the essence of our personality is nothing more than a figure that represents the electrochemical pulsations in our brain. 

Such a vision of existence is so dreary and dehumanizing that hardly anyone can entertain it, leave alone base their life on it. Even if we accept that life is devoid of meaning, life is still not devoid of distress. To make such distress bearable, we need some meaningful purpose. Sadly, materialism leaves no room for such purpose. Consequently, we desperately seek to numb ourselves through escapeways such as mindless entertainment. And ironically, materialism often glamorizes as evidence of progress the many technological gadgets and media that provide us new ways to numb ourselves. 

Foreseeing this descent toward meaninglessness, the Bhagavad-gita cautions that those who accept material pleasures as life’s all-in-all (16.08) end up destroying their own souls — they strip their lives of the things that make life meaningful and worthwhile (16.09).

If we seek a more life-affirming vision of reality, Gita wisdom offers a magnificent vision that infuses our life with enduring meaning and profound purpose. 

 

Think it over:

  • How does materialism reduce us to a number?
  • How does materialism glamorize things that make us number?
  • Have you ever experienced the emptiness of a materialistic way of life? How can you use your experiences to reorient yourself spiritually?

 

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16.09 Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.

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