MATERIALISTIC VALUES COMPROMISE MARRIAGES

STUDY: MORE LOVE OF MONEY, MORE
PROBLEMS FOR MATERIALISTIC COUPLES

http://yourlife.usatoday.com - Materialistic couples may have more money, but they also have more relationship problems, according to a new study.  Researchers have found that focusing on money and possessions can take a toll on couples’ happiness and stability.  In conducting the study, investigators from Brigham Young University analyzed relationship evaluations completed by more than 1,700 married couples across the United States. The participants were asked how much value they placed on “having money and lots of things.”  The study, published in the Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, found that couples who believe that money is not important scored up to 15 percent higher on marriage stability and other measures of relationship quality than materialistic couples.

“Couples where both spouses are materialistic were worse off on nearly every measure we looked at,” lead author, Jason Carroll, said in a university news release. “There is a pervasive pattern in the data of eroding communication, poor conflict resolution and low responsiveness to each other.”  One in five couples that participated in the study acknowledged that money was very important to them. Among these couples, who the researchers pointed out tended to be financially better off, money was often a source of conflict in the relationship.  “How these couples perceive their finances seems to be more important to their marital health than their actual financial situation,” noted Carroll.  The study results also showed that when both members of a couple are materialistic, the relationship is in more trouble than when just one person places a high value on money and possessions.

Researchers surveyed 1,734 married couples across the U.S. about their attitudes toward relationship values and issues such as materialism, compassion, communication and the importance of marriage.  Couples who rank money and things as important might be worse off in their relationships than those who aren’t as materialistic, this study finds.  The conditioned soul doesn’t understand the way to really become satisfied in this material world.  So, researchers discovered that it is true what The Beatles have sung: “Money can’t buy me Love”.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

We look at the root of all desires. Let’s think of money. Anybody here would refuse money? ... If I have money I can have a place to stay. I can pay for the water bill, the electricity. I can get safety. ... We are looking for security. We are looking for happiness. ... So ultimately we are not looking for money. Ultimately we are looking for eternity, knowledge and bliss - relationships that have meaning, happiness, satisfaction or fun. That is really the root of our desires.  The problem with the materialists is that they are trying to fulfill those desires, which are ultimately spiritual because they are part of the soul in a way separate from Krishna and that is why those desires are obstructed. But they don’t figure that out. They don’t figure that I am trying to fulfill my desires in the wrong way. They become very determined.

Śrīmati Urmila devi dasi :
“Class Live from Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir”
February 24th, 2010 - Verse: Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.33.3

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