IS money proportional to happiness ?

I am in a hurry - as i have been for the last couple of weeks during which i really missed this space - so,i'll simply paste the comments that i made on maya's blog for her last post titled :
Are you rich but unhappy? Or poor and happy Or something else?

This is what i said :
1.I think india is the best place in the world to live in, to understand the value of money. That is because if you are an indian , you are quite likely to belong to the so called middle class, you are quite likely to be frugal, you are quite likely to have been brought up in an economical lifestyle.
So, money in my country, for my people is a basic necessity to make both ends meet, to ensure that all members of the family get their share of resources, it stops there .. because there is never any ‘extra’ money with us.
2.With my generation, things are changing and quite fast… with the advent of globalization, most of us are employed with leading multinationals, we like to gulp coffee at CCD, we like to watch a movie in PVR,we like to dine at kareem’s - all in one day .. for us it stops here .. because after we have unwound ourselves, we are not left with much to save for a rainy day.
3.There is a different india residing in rural areas.. for them, money is EVERYTHING. they owe large sums to landlords, they sleep hungry on most nights, they manage to survive and spend their entire lives with one burden each day - to earn enough money to procure their next meal .. it stops here for these people, born in a different cot.
Basically,we can come around to the view :If you have less money, you will be worried about getting the resources necessary for survival,if you have ‘more’ (relatively), you will be looking to spend it in ways that will relieve you mentally,by investing in extravagant whims and fancies. basically IT (money supply) will always stop sometime or the other, but your desires will not.
the question is : if both poor and rich people need money alike ,although for different requirements, then who is a happier person ??
Happiness i believe has less to do with money, because money can only temporarily satisfy your infinite desires. if you want to be happy, you should pursue what you really want to do.

This is where i start talking about myself :

I will be dishonest if i say that i dont need a lot of money or if i say that i dont want to be rich because i have developed habits and tastes that require me to spend a considerable money on the things that i want to indulge in.. yes, i have spoiled myself to some extent..thankfully, i dont smoke and i drink only on social occasions, so those habits are ruled out.. but i am addicted to chocolate truffle, i am addicted to good food anywhere and everywhere.. so i need money to eat various kinds of food. More importantly, i need money to pursue my dreams, my real interests, things that really give me immense pleasure. in my case that pleasure comes from reading..i will invest a considerable part of my future income in buying books,in building my own personalized database of books on varied subjects. i have plans and will invest my fortune in making sure those plans bear fruit.Apart from meeting the desires stated above, i dont need money.. if i do manage to save money after spending it on the aforementioned activities, i will rather try and contribute for a social cause.
SO,is money directly proportional to happiness ?
Firstly, this question is relative and it cannot be answered absolutely. there are many poor people who live lives happily because they are content with what they have and they do not have many material desires, so to say. i have met with such kind of people who live austere lives since they believe in simplicity,i have visited temples and interacted with priests who recite the ‘hanuman chalisa’ 100 times a day and find solace in their devotion to god.at the same time, i have met rich businessmen who will have to rack their brains to remember the last time they smiled. their day begins with phone calls to dealers/clients and ends with hurling abuses at their subordinates.they have centrally air-conditioned homes,steam baths, they drive mercs …. but even they are not sure about their purpose of life !!
Secondly, Once your basic requirements have been met, money becomes a necessary evil. it spoils you, but you still need it to explore life.
IN SUM, i believe that after you have been able to put food on your table, the ‘extra’ money should go towards building your interests if you have any or serving the society. if you let yourself be spoiled by money, if you let yourself be driven by the greed for an extra home,if you let yourself destroy your purpose of life in the pursuit of materialistic pleasure, you will reduce yourself to a worthless individual and you wont be a MAN !!

PS: this is the lengthiest post i have written till date. I wish you guys have the patience !!

thank you.

THE REAL WINNERS !!

I have a gut feeling that you already know this post is about the elections.your guess is right, but please dont close the tab since i am not going to indulge in the same rhetoric.

Like all of you i have watched this election closely and again like most of you this was the first time i was eligible to vote( which i didnt because of not being in delhi on 7th may).
hence i am rather dying to put across my interpretations and here are my observations :-

1.people have matured, they know the importance of stable governance, they understand that in order to implement policies completely and to reap the dividends from long drawn out plans a govt. needs more than just 5 years at the top and that is the chief reason why the UPA won all seats in delhi and mumbai which constitute the urban class that is generally considered more well informed and intellectual.

2.people have rejected identity politics and quickly learnt that it is good for nothing and that is the chief reason why self obsessed leaders like mayawati failed to attract any votes. the same holds true of mulayam singh who has been shown that hate politics will go only so far.

3.people have voted against the regressive ideologies of the RSS and the SRI RAM SENE and have proved rightly that our country (where more than 70% citizens are aged below 25 years) needs to look forward,focus on more concrete issues of improving infrastructure,education rather than beating the bush about irrelevant issues like RAM MANDIR.
basically, the youth give a damn if an insignificant structure in some part of india is a temple or a mosque. GROW UP !! SO WHAT IF ITS EITHER !! WE NEED MORE WI-MAX COMPLEXES NOT TEMPLE COMPLEXES !!

4.people have realised that even in rural and underdeveloped states like bihar, false promises and caste politics will not bring any rewards.if you want basic necessities, if you want to stay happy, if you want to give to your children a good education, you need to vote for an honest administration that actually works. that is why nitish kumar is one of the heroes of this election because he has managed to wipe out an era of corruption and caste politics from bihar, he has managed to complelety remove laloo and paswan from bihar merely on the basis of his work.

5.people have shattered the myth that was anti-incumbency !! WTF is anti-incumbency when your govt. is working, when your govt. is delivering, when you know that change is unnecessary. why would you want to change a team that is performing and displaying results.

That was my 5 point observation from our 15th lok sabha election and in my opinion the REAL WINNER IN THIS ELECTION WAS THE INDIAN ELECTORATE !!

PS: i am a self confessed BJP supporter but sadly the party is in decline and as i had earlier stated it needed a miracle to win this election.. the miracle didnt happen !!