Over the ages societies have grown. The growth has been in population, wealth, lifestyle, comfort, convenience, education, welfare and well-being. Historians have offered various explanations for such growth and they are all valid partially. In India we witness visible growth in the recent decades. The question is where does this growth come from? Why has such a growth not been witnessed since 1947? Today we see the vegetable vendor on the road having a Rs.500/- currency note. This is not a question pertaining to India. Nowhere in the world has this question ever been answered satisfactorily. Most answers meet a partial requirement, not fully. They are all answers related to external circumstances. Is there any real answer that is ultimate?
The growth of a nation is the growth of Man, the individual. When the individual is timid, pessimistic, cowardly, and withdrawing, the nation sinks into poverty and slavery. Optimism, courage, independence, venturesome nature, and self-confidence make a nation grow. Fifty percent of our population is below the age of 25 and does not want to live like their parents -- illiterate, dirty, unhygienic, in unsanitary conditions, living on one meal, etc. They look for a middle class life of modern lifestyle. It has resulted in the daily wage on the farm in thirty years rising from 1 rupee to Rs. 100/-. It means the economic aspiration has risen a hundred times. Recently the top economists of the country met in Madras at a seminar. While speaking there, our Society member said economic issues must be looked at socially.
Money is a part of economics. Economics is part of society. To understand the realities of money, he said, we must study it from the point of view of society. Much money is in circulation because there is social aspiration for a better life. As money and economy are parts of society, society is a part of SPIRIT. When the social aspiration rises to Spiritual aspiration, the country will be flush with abundant prosperity. We have no control over the society. We do have full control over ourselves. Invocation of the Spirit can mature inwardly into individual Spiritual Aspiration resulting in a life that is materially abundant, psychologically harmonious, and spiritually fulfilling.