Three types of human activity

The first type is most predominant & solely devoted to making money. Nowadays even education, instead of seeking knowledge, is only a means to get into a lucrative profession. The only thing which differentiates humans from animals, i.e., curiosity about the external world, seems to have been given the go-by.

The second type is the one devoted to getting higher social status (which may also be viewed as the refined version of the "pecking order" present in animal society.) The quest after it is rightly called "the rat race." As long as these two, money & status are garnered, most may even prefer to remain blissfully ignorant & illiterate, as far as they are concerned.

The third & really important human activity is the one where people spend their own good money to indulge in it. Common examples are religious activity (though mostly it is indulged in to get worldly benefits like health, wealth & status.) The other recent addition to the popular activity is travel for its own sake, as a means of enjoyment. Amateur cultural activities like buying & reading books, attending music performances, buying records & audio equipment, learning music as an amateur, buying artworks (not as an investment with an eye on future increase in price.) are an indication of true interest.

As earning money being the primary goal is the theorem of human geometry, its corollary is that spending money on an activity  indicates the real interest of a human being.

Concept of Heaven in different religions

In Hinduism, Swarga is Heaven, ruled by Indra, a Vedic God. It is a place of sensual delights where souls of virtuous people are believed to go & stay until their merits are exhausted & they have to be reborn. It is to be noted that Indra is not one of the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva & also not one of the ten divine incarnations of Vishnu. The Ultimate goal of a Hindu is not Swarga but Moksha, liberation from the cycle of birth & death. It can be noted in passing that residence in Swarga is temporary & Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, is notoriously fickle.

The Christian idea of Heaven is also non-sensual, because The Virgin Mary, who had to watch her son being crucified at a young age, is called "The Queen of Heaven." This idea is also reinforced in Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress" where the Pilgrim Christian's goal is "The Celestial City", the abode of God, who is believed to have sent his Son, Jesus Christ to earth.

In Quran (56:3), it is stated that people will be divided into three multitudes after death: those on the right (blessed shall be those because they go to Jannat, the Islamic Heaven of sensual delights); those on the left (damned shall be those because they go to Jahannam, the Islamic Hell of endless pain); & those to the fore (foremost shall be those because they shall be brought near to Allah.) The third group are believed to be the Sufis, also called "Tasawwuf." These are also engaged in "The Higher Jihad" which is spiritually purifying oneself. It is quite clear that Allah does not reside in Jannat, the Islamic paradise.

Twenty first Century Ultra "Slave Labour"

In the American plantations, slave labour was bought & overworked. As they were bought, if they were worked to death too soon, one had to buy fresh labour. So seven years work (to death) was the optimum period arrived at. If they lived longer, they would not be cost-effective!

In post industrial England, there was no slavery, but "free" children, women & men were available in plenty. If they died soon, one need not buy others, as there were plenty more where they came from, readily available.  The American slaves had to be fed even when there was no work. The English poor could just be turned out into the street during slack period to fend for themselves. At the peak of this system, small children were worked to death under the whip, so much so that it was said that industrialists wore out nine generations of population in one generation. So capitalism was infinitely worse than slavery. 

Appalled at this state of things, the visionary Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist himself (not a labour leader or communist, mind you) pioneered the  International Labour Organisation mandated 8 hours as the maximum working day. This can be treated as an Universal Human Right.

But after the second world war, to reconstruct their shattered economy, the Germans started working longer hours.  Appalled at this, the German Philosopher Josef Pieper, wrote a book "Leisure, the basis of Culture", where he critiqued this short sighted route to progress. He underlined that sufficient leisure is absolutely essential to maintain one's humanity.

This pernicious doctrine has raised its ugly head in post pandemic India now. The hard-earned humanistic social progress of centuries globally is now thrown to the winds under the guise of strengthening the nation by a few captains of industry. Are they to be  lauded for this or rather considered eligible for prosecution under International Law for human rights violations?

Quintessential Non-romantic Love Story

L. M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" is the rarity referred to in the title. Unlike the traditional love stories, which concern themselves with only the romance between the hero & heroine, here different facets of human love take centre stage.

To start with is the unselfish love between the middle aged, unmarried siblings Matthew & Marilla. Instead of being frustrated & irritable, they are at peace with themselves & their world. 

With the arrival of the unwanted orphan Anne Shirley, who from the beginning loves them, as she comes from a horrendous background, the dynamics change. Matthew is sympathetic right from the start, while Marilla takes her time. But her feminine, unrequited maternal heart is also soon conquered.

Then there is the friendly, sisterly love between Anne & Diana, which progresses in spite of initial external hiccups. Though beginning with a stormy start, the love between Anne & the older ladies Rachel Linde & Josephine Barry strikes root firmly & becomes enduring.

Only towards the end of the book, the embryonic romantic love between Anne & Gilbert makes its beginning. In spite of it, Anne rejects a lucrative college scholarship to be with the aging Marilla in a supreme act of selfless love.

The Myth of Truth in Love & Religion

The major preoccupation of Western literature & cinema is romantic love often touted as the only meaning of the word love. Frequently it is designated as the "true love" when one has presumably found the object of one's affections. Whether it is "true" can be examined further.

Richard Bach, philosopher-author of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" married 4 times including the longest lasting one of 22 years with Leslie Parrish whom he designated as "soulmate" & celebrated his "true" love for her in "A Bridge Across Forever". He was earlier also married. After 22 years with Leslie, his "soulmate", he divorced her & married 2 more times. One may wonder what happened to his soul, whether it was split into pieces like the Horcruxes in the Harry Potter stories.

Even among human love, which is arguably neither true nor lasting, including the much touted maternal love, romantic love may be less strong than filial or sibling love in many cases. Even in Western literature, this is occasionally depicted.

Divine love is the highest form of love, declare all the religions of the world. From the Upanishads to the New Testament & the Quran, it is reiterated. This is also reminded by Saints & mystics of all religions. 

Now about religions, each of the Abrahamic religions, which comprise the highest number of adherents, claim themselves as the only "true" religion, implying that the others are false. This highly arguably tenet, was first publicly repudiated by Swami Vivekananda, who in spite of being a Hindu monk, famously said that all religions are true. Depending on the varying needs of the people, living in  different places at different times, different religions arose to satisfy those needs. Instead of celebrating the essential unity of the human race despite their diverse religions, claiming their own as the "true" religion & themselves as the "Chosen People", is both irrational & dangerously divisive.