by C.V.Rajan

Created on: December 20, 2008   Last Updated: January 26, 2009

At the barest minimum level, a man's basic physical needs are food, clothing and shelter. Anything acquired more to enhance and embellish these basic needs and anything acquired to satisfy needs beyond these basics constitutes materialism.

Materialism essentially grows based on need, greed, comparison and status.

Need based materialism:

Food is needed for energy and health of the body. But God has given the tongue which demands food to satisfy its taste buds. Satisfying the tongue in addition to supplying energy and health to the body is an additional need. So man acquires so many accessories to cook food in different ways and tastes. Utensils, stoves, grills, ovens, grinders, mixers and so on get accumulated in the kitchen. They all represent need based materialism.

Man needs clothes not only to guard his shame, but also to protect his body from climatic variations like heat and cold. So cotton clothes, woolen clothes, inner wears, outer wears more and more clothes contribute to need based materialism.

Man has to have his shelter to protect him under all climatic conditions; he needs a heater in winter, a fan or an air cooler in summer; he needs light at night; he needs a comfortable bed to sleep. He needs furniture to sit. Thus man adds several shelter oriented paraphernalia and they contribute to need based materialism.

Greed Based Materialism:

Hindu Philosophers say that satisfying the sensual needs is akin to putting out fire using oil. The more the needs are satisfied, the stronger the needs grow. When needs are satisfied or needs are frustrated, they tend to grow to become greed.

Greed prompts people to acquire more and more. Greed makes one to accumulate and hoard. Greed goads one to rob others of their rightful share for one's selfish and unbridled enjoyment. People tend to eat exotic varieties of food far more than what they can digest. People stock more than sufficient quantities of clothing unmindful of climatic needs; People buy more than one house and rent them out. Everything acquired in excess and stocked without much usage is greed based materialism.

Comparison based materialism:

This is one of the most pitiful human traits found across all cultures and countries. People tend to compare themselves with neighbors, friends and relatives and acquire things which, in reality, might be totally unnecessary for them, just to put them at equal pedestal with others in comparison. A person who has no fine-tuned ears for enjoying good music buys a costly hi-fi

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