Introduction
Generally love is synonymous with happiness – it is a concept ruling our thoughts from time immemorial. If that is so then how can this love and this happiness be gained? Here creeps is a prevailing misconception that money is the key to happiness. In Mother Nature the male weaver bird weaves a fantastic nest – it’s equivalent to wealth and money before wooing its partner. So to the female bird love equates to money in the form of the nest. The question is whether it applies to human society. We take our lessons from Nature and read through the eyes of the weaver bird it seems not unfair for the female bird to judge the love of its partner from the excellence of the nest. After all it is the female that has to rear the young and make life worth living.
Love
On the other hand there is the Sanskrit mythological story of the sage Valmiki witnessing the voluntary death of one bird grieving the demise of its partner. This too is not an uncommon scene in the wild. Birds that pair for life often pines to death for their lost partner and not all the best bird seeds in the world would deter them from their determination. Indian history is rich with the story of Queen Padmini who scorned the wealth of the Delhi Sultanate and chose death to dishonor. To her love and money could not be equated. But if we leave aside the exceptions and variations – the general rule is that money, money and money is sweeter happiness than honey; without it love will fly out of the window. Thus at the practical mundane level it can be said that it is not a misconception to think that money is the vital ingredient for happiness.
Money
There can be no food or shelter without money and sans the basic needs love vanishes – we become animals in the raw without sentiments. But Nature that provides us with the body and its needs also gives us the means to satisfy it. The fawn nibbles at the grass while the lion cub chases the deer with its mother. The flowing milk from the human mother nourishes the child. But suppose the basics are met then can it be said that love and happiness are not dependent on money?
Argument
In Sanskrit mythology there are two characters that roll in money – King Kuber and the Goddess Lakshmi. King Kuber is not much of a loved figure and is considered to be somewhat like the Greek King Midas. Midas did not savor love and happiness from his magical golden touch that transformed everything into gold. But Lakshmi is not just a Queen – she is a Goddess that brings prosperity with love. Thus, money alone which is linked to prosperity brings love and happiness. Prosperity has a wide connotation involving peace, love and happiness. It is not just figures scrawled in bank accounts or bulging purses in obese pockets that feed medical bills. Money brings happiness when Man masters and owns it and not the reverse with money owning Man.
Result
Thus temperance and balance are the answer. The Roman Empire and others collapsed because of greed for wealth and money laced with love for power. There was money flying around and yet the love of the poor Christian slaves brought them together to form ultimately the strong successful fraternity of the Crusades that with time led to the rise of the mighty Western Empire we are seeing today. But here again, we are seeing too much money is causing love to retreat, families and bonds breaking up leading to arrogance and danger of collapse.
Conclusion
Thus we see that money is required for love and without love there can be no happiness. But it is greed and overeating of money that leads to indigestion causing love to flee. The pivotal point is – do we eat to live or live to eat? In the same tone do we acquire money to woo love or do we love the money? In the latter case there can be no happiness. What is happiness? It is a relative concept. What if one man’s meat is poison for another? The deer spells happiness to the lion but the lion spells unhappiness to the deer, yet the scene we see before us of the lion chasing the deer is the same. It is the attitude of the mind that spells happiness. The killer is happy taking lives with the knife while the housewife is content and happy chopping vegetables with the same knife for the evening meal of her loved ones. Thus depending on what happiness means to one, it can be asserted or contradicted that it is a misconception to believe that money is the most important thing to bring happiness and love.