He who is satisfied in the self has no other duty more important – Bhagavad Gita, 3:17
Sufficiency is a state of fulfillment of an end, the completeness. Self Sufficiency likewise, is the ability to reach to such ends by the Self only, without being dependent on any other thing apart from the Self whatsoever. By the concept of Self, we can understand the one whom man identifies as being Me or I. So, Self Sufficiency is simply, one’s self itself being sufficient or enough to reach any ends.
Of all the ends, one end that is common in all men and the strife for which gives birth to many other states is happiness (satisfaction). Sufficiency in happiness is the state where happiness is reached, achieved. It is the completeness of the end, the fulfillment of that end. Self Sufficiency, in this sense implies the ability to be happy or satisfied by one’s own self, without being dependent on any other factors at all. This is the very meaning of the verse from the Bhagawad Gita mentioned at the beginning of this essay. That particular verse even goes onto say that this Self Sufficiency is the most important thing in one’s life, with no other work being more important. So, how important this Self Sufficiency regarding happiness really is and to what extent is the application of it possible in our lives, is the question which we now look to answer at first after which we will attempt to look at it from a collective viewpoint and move to other objects of sufficiency.
That thing can be deemed to be as the most important thing which is the most worth having, the best. In our lives, happiness or satisfaction clearly is that thing which is the most worth having, the best, the most worthy. So, sufficiency of happiness is the best state or the most perfect state in which a man can be. It implies having been happy, the completeness of the end, happiness. Sufficiency in regards to happiness then, is the most important state in us. Self Sufficiency likewise, is our ability to be happy on our own, by our Self without being dependent on any other thing whatsoever. It is our ability to do the most important thing in our life, but, by our Self only.
Now, having defined certain terms and established a relationship between importance and Self Sufficiency, we will look at things from an external point of view, we will look at those other things which are apart from the Self, after which only will we be able to answer the question of its real importance and also its applications.
A predicate most naturally attached to man is social. Man is a social being, is a fact that requires not much of proving. The community man naturally creates, the value he plants on his peers, the dependency he has on others, the value he has for social success, the disdain he shows for loneliness and the emotion he shows in birth and death of others are enough to validate that fact. Man then, lives in a social environment, thrives in it and relies in it. His attainment of that chief end, happiness, too is dependent on social agents. He relies on his social peers in order to achieve that end and how he does that is not even required to be mentioned. Now, the curiosity naturally arises as to how a being so dependent on society can conform to concepts such as Self Sufficiency which is completely dependent on the Self only. They seem to be on completely opposite poles and at first glance seem to be two ends that will never meet. But, anyone who comprehends human life and human nature also comprehends the uncertainty that surrounds them. Many a man is driven by mundane self-interests that completely masks his knowledge of the most important thing and the actual end that a human nature strives for or should strive for. This lack of knowledge indulges him in such interests which cover his mind so entirely that he becomes nothing but a petty creature striving for petty interests and finds himself surrounded by conflicts and issues which, seen from a more contemplative mind, is nothing but a folly. This particular nature of man which arises out of nothing but ignorance and which cannot be corrected no matter how hard one tries and also some established truth of man’s life such as inconsistency, change and death are the reasons why Self Sufficiency is the most important thing in a man’s life.
It is a folly to place ones most important and valuable thing into the hands of others and it is wise to keep such things with the self. This applies to every important and valuable thing. Now, in our case, since happiness or satisfaction is that most important thing, depending on others for it is nothing but a folly. Hence, being reliant on creatures such as fellow men who are drowned in ignorance and bound with inconsistency, change and death, for the achievement of the Self’s most important thing is clearly the biggest folly. As happiness is the end of our lives and therefore the most important thing in our life, sufficiency being the state of its achievement, not depending on others for it specially the kinds which are the most ignorant ones, Self Sufficiency naturally becomes the most important thing in one’s life as it guarantees our satisfaction. In the worst case, we will be hampered by only one man’s ignorance not of the multitude.
Self Sufficiency must be carried forward with the maxim, First the best, than the rest.
It is under this context that Chanakya’s words intelligently reverb:
For the self every other thing has to be sacrificed.
Now, labels such as selfish or self-centered might be attached to any man who wants to be self-sufficient (from happiness’ sense), but isn’t it better to possess the most important thing in our lives and be called a selfish man than be called a selfless man but be a victim of ignorance of others being devoid of the thing that is the most worth having?
One might argue regarding the worth of family and friends in one’s life and how much they are conjoined together in this journey to achieve the most important thing. Yes, family and friends do exist but they only become of value if they aid one in his path to achieve that end. Let us all strife for our own ends individually and help each other in the attainment of that end rather than create meaningless attachments with each other in the name of love which will do good to no one and will only make us weak, is what one must be able to tell his family and also his friends. All other supports from and to them, plays with them and moments one spends with them ought to be for him only a surplus, a bonus which shall neither add nor decrease anything from his self-achieved satisfaction. All such supports, plays and moments ought to only be a pastime or matters of intellectual interest in this life, as the most important thing will have already been achieved. Also, there is nothing wrong with prioritizing the characters in that pastime depending on intellectual interests.
Now let us look at Self Sufficiency from a material sense. Unlike happiness, a normal man has not been able to devise a method to generate food and water from himself and even if he had been able to devise such a method, it would be futile and unnecessary to sought after as such things are not an end in themselves but only the means to an end. Resources such as food and water and many others are vital for our existence, no doubt and are limited such that sufficiency of them is never really possible. Since we do not own by ourselves any geographical part in this earth where such resources are available, material Self Sufficiency is further not possible. Of course, we can strife for the ownership of such geographical parts by various methods, but all such strife will do is indulge us in mundane self-interests and take us away from our true end. This does not mean, however, that one ought to live as a beggar or a nomad, all it means is that one ought to be indifferent towards such material sufficiency and understand that he will never be materially sufficient and in case he becomes such, it would only be as a result of his petty self-interest and ignorance of thing of true value. With the end in mind, one has to treat material possessions as surpluses only which are to neither increase or decrease anything from his self-achieved satisfaction. Such objects ought to only be looked upon as means and not as an end, hence, placing no value or attachment in them and utilizing them only so much as they are needed in the process of attainment of the real end, or in case of some, as a pastime or intellectual interest.
