krishna lounge

As always our program is, that we first do kirtan for a few minutes, then we explain a little about kirtan, and then we do some more kirtan and serve out the snack.

The topic that I chose for today is, of course, very relevant to kirtan, that is economics and psychology. Go figure how that relates to kirtan, but hopefully in a few minutes we will find out. This is based on a presentation that one of our senior monks gave. His PHD is in economics and psychology.

So tonight’s presentation will focus on the point of increased choice and decreased well-being. In the modern economical system, living entities are regarded as consumer units, and thinking that we are just consumer units that means that they more that we are going to consume, the happier we will be. Therefore that there are more options out there to choose from should make us happier. More Wal-marts and more K-marts and more these and those marts, we should be happier.

Recently there was a book published, I forget the title of it, but the book talks about satisfisers and maximizers. It generally divides people into two categories, of course, people could always be further divided into many many different categories, but in the light of economics and psychology, it divided people into two groups, satisfizers and maximizers. Just so you can get a clue about what we are talking about here, I’ll read a few sentences about each.

The characteristics of satisfisers are: They are satisfied with their choice. They look at several products and choose what they consider reasonably good. They look at a few things, check maybe 3-5 options, and just pick something and they don’t have high expectations. Their standards are very plain.

Once they make a decision, they leave it at that. In other words, you bought something and that’s it, you bought it and you’re happy with it. You leave it at that. Once they purchase something they don’t look further. Bought it, that’s it, no need to look further. I am done with that, that’s behind, no need to think about it anymore.

They are satisfied with their simple standards. They are less likely to make a better choice, but are more satisfied, because this is… that’s just normal. If you do more research, you’re more likely to get a better product, isn’t it? And the less research you do the more likely you are to get a junky-ish product. A product of a lesser quality. They’re less likely to make a better choice, but they are more satisfied, as opposed to the maximizers.

In regards, for example, to searching for jobs, they’re always more likely to find the lesser paying jobs. People with this psychology, they will find lesser paying jobs. But they are satisfied with what they have.

Now the maximizers. They are constantly evaluating, studying, and reviewing choices. Product comparison before and after making the purchase. We can understand product comparison before you make the purchase, because you are going to buy something, so you compare, you have so many options, so you compare. But they continue to compare even after they make the purchase. You know, I bought the camera, a digital camera, or whatever it may be, and I’m not satisfied, I continue to make comparisons. I already bought it but then I went online and I checked this product and that product and these features and those features, and I continue my evaluation of the product.

They take longer to decide what to buy, of course, because they take time to study the product. After making a choice, they are nagged by the choices they did not have time to investigate. You bought something and then you are thinking: gee, ya know, I forgot to look at that thing, it might have been on sale somewhere else! And in this way they are quite disturbed.

They are more likely to make a better choice but less satisfaction. Why less satisfaction? Because by default, this kind of consciousness, will make one dissatisfied. Because you are always looking for better, for more increased quality and increased quantity. And newer and better things. So therefore, less satisfaction. This comes with this type of psychology. They often border with clinical depression. Depression is said to be the number two disease in America, after heart disease. As a matter of fact there is a great… can you let them in? ….(guests come in)…. So these people often border on clinical depression.

So what we have just heard is a description of a typical American citizen, and for this reason they say about 30% of the American population, in any given year, is in serious need of psychiatric help. In other words they just can’t cope with life. This “can’t cope with life means that they can’t cope with this maximizer attitude or psychology. That is the problem. They find better paying jobs but they are less satisfied because they are always looking for better options, they are always on the lookout for better opportunities. In other words they are never satisfied with what they have no matter what it is, they are always on the lookout for something better.

In relationships, they treat people like clothing. Try a lot before you find the perfect fit. Thus the marriages don’t last too long, the friendships don’t last too long, you know, you treat people like objects of your sensual satisfaction. Try a lot before you find the perfect fit and whatever the perfect fit might be you think there always might be something better. They always fantasize about a different life from the one they have.

So this is chapter one: satisfisers and maximizers. The next thing I want to mention is called adaptation. What is wrong with this adaptation thing? What the word adaptation refers too is the idea or the phenomena, now this is also scientifically proven, in other words, scientists in prestigious places of education in North America have done studies on people over a number of years, and this is all scientifically documented. So this adaptation refers to the phenomena that “the joy of possessing an item declines with time.” In other words, you buy an item, you have that item, you possess it, and then initially when you have it you may be all excited about it and you might be even dreaming about it, and there’s some joy about it. But in due course of time the joy found in possessing this item declines. And then what do you do then?

Cry, what do maximizers do? Buy another one! That’s what it is! And the same thing holds for relationships. Not only in objects but everything. Buy another one, get another wife, get another husband, get another friend, get another car, get another sweater, get another watch, get another computer, ahhhhh give me a prozac! You know, that’s what it is.

So this adaptation adds another problem to it. Therefore the modern thoughtful men, educated men are finding a need for a new economical system because obviously the current economical system is crushing people to powder. It is really making people dissatisfied. It is encouraging people to be maximizers, not satisfisers.

According to the Vedic teachings, the ancient Indian spiritual teachings, the joy is in giving, not in taking. And that is said to be the constitutional position of the living entity, so when the living entity is in this position of giving, of sacrificing, or sticking out for people, then they become happy because that is the constitutional position of the living entity. When the one is in the mood of taking, then one is immediately plunged into this psychology of a maximizer and the current economical system, the current culture does not encourage satisfisers, or givers, it just does not. Why? Well because, I’m sorry to say, but most people, ninety nine percent of people that I know, including even monks that live here, often times, fall into the category of maximizers. And probably 100% percent of the people that we meet in our daily lives, maybe even ourselves, are maximizers. Why? Because we are being eaten up by this economical system that is all-pervading. The economical system dictates the culture and once you have the culture, people are like that. You simply imbibe the psychology and even without being aware of it you become a victim of this kind of psychology, you become a maximizer. And thus you are never satisfied. Does anyone of you know how the economy of a country prospers, within our current economical system?

Consuming! You have to earn money really fast and spend it really fast. And the faster this process happens, the economy is increasing. And then once this process slows down you have an issue. As a matter of fact, what happens is that you have inflation. That’s what happens.

So the current economical system does not encourage satisfisers or givers, and this is a big a problem, here I put three exclamation marks! ::laughs::

So what do we do about it? How to fight it? Really it is difficult because, I’m sure, even like right now we have heard it, and this is a fact this is not some kind of a spiritual or religious belief this is all coming from the modern studies in economics, just hard facts. But still people, after hearing this and when they go out there and leave this place where they heard the info from, they’ll continue to be maximizers and consumers, they just can’t help it because it is all-pervading.

So the only way really to fight this problem and help yourself to become a more satisfied person, is to understand the nature of the self, because from the modern hard-core mainstream societal understanding the living entity is defined as a pile of matter whose needs are material. And therefore, the conclusion is that the more stuff you have, you should be happier.

But the Vedas teach that the identity of the self is spiritual, and here we have some facts, showing that is you have more stuff, you’ll be less satisfied, simply by having more stuff you’ll be encouraged to be a maximizer. Always looking for a better opportunity, for new things, better things, bigger things, customized things, and on and on and on and never being satisfied. Never being satisfied with the objects or the people or the relationships that we have. So therefore kirtan! Therefore we have this kirtan culture as a solution to it. Because kirtan yoga, as we mentioned in the beginning, yoga is the linking process, of the consciousness to the supreme consciousness, by this association with this spiritual sound vibration, the consciousness become spiritualized, and once we are spiritually enlivened, the materialistic tendencies decrease, and attachments slacken.

A few pix taken that night:

“Reincarnation” video that was shown:

And a few pix: