It was stated in the
last post that is people foolishly think persons at higher level in
the society are more happy than persons at lower level in the
society. The reason is, the happiness depends on thinking and the
line of thinking of persons from every class is same. They derive
equal amount of happiness from the objects available to them though
there is vast difference outwardly.
Consider this example.
A lawyer saves up money every month and eventually buys a car. The
lawyer has a servant. Servant too saves up money every month and
eventually buys a bike. Lawyer is very happy about his car. Servant
is very happy about his bicycle. Lawyer keeps on roaming
unnecessarily to his friends to show them his new possession- the
car. So does the servant. He too keeps on roaming unnecessarily to
his friends to show them his new possession-the bicycle. Both are
equally happy but neither servant nor the lawyer would believe it.
After few months, Lawyer has a long tiring drive and he, after
getting to home, complains, “Driving car through out the day is
too tiring .” His servant too has to visit many places in the
city and therefore, does a lot of bike riding. He too, after getting
home, complains, “Riding bike through out the day is too tiring
.” If you tell servant that your employer is equally unhappy,
the servant would react, “You should not play jokes on
someone’s misery. He is, after all, having car. He has such a
glamorous position in the society. How can he be equally unhappy as I
am?”
Although the external
positions of the lawyer and the servant in the society are quite a
distance apart from each other, their internal feelings are exactly
same. It is a sheer illusion that, “More money, more happiness.
Higher status, greater happiness. More power, more happiness.”
The truth is, the
enjoyment that any cow derives from eating green grass is exactly
equal to the enjoyment that a very rich person derives through eating
delicacies