Sometimes I feel bad about our perception towards certain things as a people. The perception that wealth is bad and must have been gained through false means, or that a wealthy man is mean and unkind or that to be martyrs and absolutely generous and giving to people at the cost of your own well being is a virtue. I have seen it in so many subtle ways where people in India are always so excessively modest about their wealth and find it embarrassing to speak about how much they have…and those who do are considered flashy show offs (there are of course many flashy people around but we seem to condemn a person who is spending all his well earned money on luxury). We have a tendency to be guilty about our accomplishments for some reason instead of being proud and accepting a thump on the back well.

This story I read somehow shows how deep into our philosophy as a people this is ingrained -

http://www.gurmat.info/sms/smspublications/gurunanakforchildren/chapter5/

Disclaimer: I agree there are communities which are quite the opposite but the same does manifest in various ways among them as well. Also, this is not a barb against a particular religion, simply an observation of us as a people.

Tags: Guilt, Indian culture, people