நீர்க்குமிழிகள் ~ Wealth of Nations – Rich & Poor
வாழ்ந்தது மாமழை மொக்குளின் மாய்ந்து மாய்ந்து
மொக்குள் என்ற பெயர்ச்சொல்லுக்கு - அல்லியின் (பூக்களின்) மொட்டுகள் என்று பொருள். பூக்கும் செடிகொடிகளில் மலர்வதற்கு முன் இதழ்கள்
குவிந்து இருக்கும் நிலை. மலரும் முன் ஆனால் மலரும் நிலைக்கு நெருங்கிய நிலையில் உள்ள
மலர் (மலரும் பருவத்தை அடைந்த அரும்பு). இச்சொல்லுக்கு மற்றோரு பொருள் – நீர்க்குமிழிகள்
Not only for individuals, even for Societies, Nations, life keeps changing over a period of time. We are not, what we were a decade ago !
There is pronounced inequality among Nations and its people ! Would you rather be rich in a poor country or poor in a rich one? Measuring the wealth of nations is not that easy. Determining how rich you are depends to a large degree on how rich and poor countries are defined.
What is known as Super powers or rich or advanced economies now would be : USA, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, and the UK. These are known as the G7. In antiquity, the advanced economies included China, India, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. When Sumerians were writing poems like the Epic of Gilgamesh in 2100 BCE, Brits were living in small, kin-based, illiterate tribes. While Brits were arranging big stones in a circle and calling it a monument (Stonehenge), the Egyptians were building the Great Pyramid, which was the tallest human-made structure for 38 centuries. When Julius Caesar needed a mathematician to help revise the calendar, he found him in Africa – Egypt in particular (Sosigenes of Alexandria). Egypt had been using a 365-day calendar for centuries.
If we simply consider a nation’s gross domestic product—the sum of all goods and services produced by a country during one year—then we would have to conclude that the richest nations are exactly the ones with the largest GDP: United States, China, Japan, Germany. But how could the economies, for example, of Singapore or Luxembourg ever match that of such powerhouses when they are no more than small dots on the world map ? Another problem with GDP is that it does not measure income inequality, that is, how a country’s riches are distributed among the population. That is why a more accurate representation of people’s living conditions begins with dividing a nation’s GDP by the number of people that live there: per capita GDP and its growth rate tell us much more about the social wealth potentially available to each person and whether this wealth is either increasing or decreasing over time.
A common misconception is that people suppose the birth of economics as the publication of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations in 1776. Actually, this classic’s full title is An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, and Smith does indeed attempt to explain why some nations achieve wealth and others fail to do so. Yet, in the 241 years since the book’s publication, the gap between rich countries and poor countries has grown even larger. Economists are still refining their answer to the original question: Why are some countries rich and others poor, and what can be done about it?
In common language, the terms “rich” and “poor” are often used in a relative sense: A “poor” person has less income, wealth, goods, or services than a “rich” person. Life is not all about being rich, but living it well and longer – can you find one person who would trade his life years for abundance of wealth ?? - life longevity is often likened to that of a bubble. Ever wondered why there is always the odd bubble floating around in the glass, even though you poured still water !
Water contains
dissolved air, molecules of which accumulate around tiny imperfections on the
glass. This process of “nucleation” continues until a bubble forms, breaks free
and rises to the surface. Dropping something light but crinkly like a lemon pip
into fizzy water can trigger repeated cycles of nucleation and bubble
formation, making it rise and fall repeatedly.
A soap bubble (commonly referred to as simply a bubble) is an extremely
thin film of soap or detergent and water enclosing air that forms a hollow
sphere with an iridescent surface. Soap bubbles usually last for only a few
seconds before bursting, either on their own or on contact with another object.
When light shines onto a bubble it
appears to change colour. The longevity
of a soap bubble is limited by the ease of rupture of the very thin layer of
water which constitutes its surface, namely a micrometer-thick soap film.
Life is also too
sensitive and the bubble of life can break in less than a minute, throwing life
of those around out of gears !! ஸ்வாமி நம்மாழ்வாரின் திருவாய்மொழி பாசுரம் இங்கே :
வாழ்ந்தார்கள் வாழ்ந்தது மாமழை மொக்குளின் மாய்ந்து மாய்ந்து,
ஆழ்ந்தாரென்றல்லால் அன்று முதலின்றறுதியா,
வாழ்ந்தார்கள் வாழ்ந்தே நிற்பர்
என்பதில்லை நிற்குறில்,
ஆழ்ந்தார் கடல்பள்ளி அண்ணல் அடியவர் ஆமினோ.
இக்கரைக்கு அக்கரை பச்சை என்பதாக, வாழ்வில் பலர் நன்கு சீரும் சிறப்புமாக வாழ்கிறார்கள் என நாம் நினைக்கிறோம். நிஜங்கள் மாறுபடலாம். நன்றாக வாழ்ந்தவர்களென்று நினைக்கப்படுகிறவர்கள் வாழ்ந்த வாழ்வைப் ஆராய்ந்து பார்த்தால் அவர் தம் வாழ்வும், பெருமழையில் தள்ளாடும் நீர்க்குமிழிபோலே அலைக்கழிப்பட்டு,அழிந்தழிந்து அதோகதியைபடைந்தனர் என்று சொல்லப்படுவது தவிர அன்று பரஹ்மஸ்டிருஷ்டி காலம் தொடங்கி இன்று வரை, நாளை தொடர, வாழ்ந்தவர்கள் ஒரு தன்மையாக ஸ்திரமாக வாழ்ந்தேயிருத்தல் என்பது கிடையவே கிடையாது; வாழ்க்கை நிலையற்றது. நிலைநின்ற வாழ்வடைய வேண்டில் ஆழமான திருப்பாற்கடலில் துயில்கின்ற ஸ்வாமி ஸ்ரீமன் நாரணனுக்கு அடிமைப்பட்டிருங்கோள் என மொழிகிறார் சடகோபன் இந்த பாசுரத்தில்.
Today is Pournami –
gleaning archives, found these photos of Sri Parthasarathi Emperuman purappadu
at Thiruvallikkeni divyadesam, occasion being Pournami – 27.9.2015. life has changed much, ever since, for most of us.
அடியேன் ஸ்ரீனிவாசதாசன்
மாமண்டுர் வீரவல்லி ஸ்ரீனிவாசன் சம்பத்குமார்
16.10.2024
Fantastic Sampath. What a connection to Economics, impermanence to Nammazhvar paasuram and postulation of Saranaagadhi!!!!
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