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Mumbai based Yoga educator Prasad Rangnekar shares how he is not missing any joy by consuming mindfully
In April 2022, I complete 3 years of not buying any personal merchandise i.e. clothes, shoes and products like perfume and shampoo. There’s a reason for it.
Three years ago I passed by one of my favourite high-street clothing stores. I went in just to have a look and ended up buying a T-shirt – the one I am wearing in the picture. As I was leaving the store, I felt discomfort in the pit of my stomach. My mind asked, “Prasad, did you really need that T-shirt?” I didn’t need it; I didn’t even want it; yet my impulse made me buy it. Why?
As I walked away from the store I promised myself not to buy clothes or shoes for the next three years. I have managed it, even extending the range of products (except for masks).
I am trying to be mindful of my consumption patterns and have lived frugally for over 5-6 years now. We live in times of excess where impulses win over awareness way too often. Our impulsive consumption habits need to be checked, especially in times when products are delivered at the click of a button.
As a child I grew up in a place with acute water shortage. We had to draw buckets of water from a tank and lug them up to our 4th floor apartment. Perhaps that is what makes me sensitive about resource usage, especially water.
It’s shocking to know that it takes 2,700 liters of water to make just one T-shirt. That’s enough water for one person to drink for 900 days. Now, put this in context of the fact that 850,000 people die every year from lack of access to good water, sanitation, and hygiene. I thought it was unfair that my impulsively purchased T-shirt which I would wear just a few times should snatch away someone’s drinking water for 3 years. Upon that, unfair labor laws, poisoning of rivers by chemical dyes, overuse of power to fuel factories, air pollution and carbon footprint are not even thought of when we go for that feel-good purchase.
I know we can’t avoid consumption, but what and how much to consume should definitely be checked. And no, I am NOT missing out on fun as my idea of pleasure is different. I am happy and am not depriving myself of any joy.
I believe that spirituality is as much about regulating our resource use as much as it is about regulating our mind. This is what the Yogis call Pratyahara.
Please do your research and take the appropriate steps. Thanks
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