Acharya Mahaprajna
In parts this is true. But we should not look at this as a fault. Indian tradition did not pay as much attention to material development as contemporary man would have liked. Why? We have to reflect on this more seriously.
The history of Indian development is very ancient. At one time the people of India had reached a very high stage of cultural and all round development. After reaching there, they felt the roads ahead were closed.
The one who has reached the peak cannot go much further. If one is in the valley or half way up, there is a road ahead. At the peak one is left with two alternatives: either to keep standing there or to come back, downhill. Nobody can stay at the peak for long; it is inevitable that he comes down.
The Indian people had reached the pinnacle of development, culture and civilization. When on going there they found the roads ahead closed, they decided they had to look for newer routes, newer solutions. One finding was certain that at the end of the race for materialism there were no gains. Initially they thought that reaching the peak would definitely get them something. But on going there and finding nothing they wondered how long they could continue to stand there. There was nothing so attractive to make them stand there forever. They thought of going down, but they did not accept that idea and instead chose a second route. Contemporary philosophers refer to this second route as the viewpoint of despair.
We cannot agree with this thinking. If moving towards materialism is the viewpoint of hope then we should accept that there is no right for us to expect a peaceful life.
