Love or Money?

We live in an extremely materialistic world these days where money rules. In an interesting discussion I had with my class recently about what was more important, love or money, I was quite surprised to find that most of the young people took the side of money, whereas the older ones opted for love. Is this a reflection of the times, I wonder?!? Is the younger generation being mercenary merely to feed their increasing narcissism or is it being very practical and realistic about living comfortably in this increasingly expensive world, I ask myself? The arguments in favour of both were plenty and I was left inconclusive at the end because of the validity and verity of both the arguments.

I commented about this on Facebook, and many of my friends weghed in on the subject. Here's what some of my friends had to say: Chithra Just, whose comment I wholly endorse, said," Why does it have to be this OR that always? money without love doesn't fill the heart; love without money doesn't fill the stomach! we need both - money in moderation and love in abundance! :)" Krithika Swaminathan said, " I would choose love... It would be great to have both in balance, but if I had to choose one over the other, I will choose love... The world won't go around without love. ;)" Petulia Joseph was succinct and poetic in her comment that she thought love was priceless and would survive even the apocalypse. Lily Blessing was very practical in even giving a ratio of 60 : 40 (love : money) that she would prefer to have. Sampath Kumar felt that it all depended on age, that in youth, one would be on the side of love, in middle age on the side of money, and then again in old age back on the side of love - sort of like a pendulum swing to me.

Shashikala Subramanian, another friend from my school days came out with some beautiful quotes in favour of love: "Though I give all I possess to the poor and surrender myself to the flames, but do not have love ... I gain nothing. Love is always happy when it can share something and give something. Everything in life prospers and grows in the sweetness and warmth of love," and went on to quote, "Even out of the three - Faith, Hope and Love - the greatest of these is Love." I was particularly struck by what my student Viktor, the 86-year-old Computer Science Professor Emeritus from Kiev, Ukraine, had to say. He and his 70-year-old wife Olga, who's also my student, took a clear stand in favour of love and he told the class of a proverb from the Soviet Union: "When there is love in your heart, you can find paradise even in a hat!" That set the whole class thinking, while another came up with a proverb from her country, in favour of money: "When Poverty knocks at your door, Love will fly out through the window!"

It was a very interesting, lively debate indeed, and when asked what I thought was more important, I answered of course, it was love. I came home and told my husband of the whole discussion, and quick came the retort, "How stupid! Will love pay the mortgage or the other bills or put food on the table?" Ever the realist, I thought! Now according to Sampath, does that make me young /old and my husband middle-aged, or as per my class, am I old and my husband young? Hmmm ... I wonder!!!