Ram, The King Without Ambition

How hunger and thirst run our lives

- Devdutt Pattanaik

In the epic Ramayana, Ram encounters a peculiar demon in the forest. His name is Kabandha. Kaband ha stretches his two long arms and grabs Ram and his brother and then draws them close to his mouth. That is when Ram notices that the demon has no separate head; it has merged with his stomach. In other words, he sees for his stomach, his hears for his stomach, and he thinks for his stomach. His existence is all about eating. There is no other thought. No other purpose. This is a great metaphor for Capitalism and Socialism - the great economic philosophies that shape our societies today. Take a look at the ambitious billionaires of the world today. They have more wealth than anyone else in the world, but they still want more, pursuing relentless growth. In interviews they appear motivated, driven, hungry, and they glamourise their discontentment. This is because modern society sees endless ambition, like relentless growth, as a virtue, rather than a pathology.

Ambition makes sense when you do not have enough to pay your bills. But what about when you have a surplus of seventy generations? At what point does one say'I have enough'. Modern society says contentment is a pathology - it is equated With complacency in business schools and in the business world. Everyone, poor and rich, is expected to keep running on the treadmill, in the office, on the smartphone, accessible even on vacation, chasing the next goal, the next target, the next vision. Only the lazy rest. The rest have to stay productive.