More 'food' for thought

As I write, around 200 people have been laid off in my company here in India. Well, imagine being laid off! Hmm..wouldn't be so bad if you don't have any family to support or loans to pay. You can live off from a minimal single room easily till you find another job. But, the question of having to work goes back to the fundamental need of food. Clothing & shelter probably a little later in the priority list. Imagine, if these 3 primary needs are won over - minimal food, minimal clothing & minimal shelter - wouldn't one be free! Well, this is not really my theory. Ancient wisdom says - minimize your needs, the happier would you be. However, no man would want to be a 'loser'. So, even if he is laid off, he would fight and get a 'better' job so that he can afford all he wants rather than minimize his needs. That seems to be the way life is.

Let's look at this basic need for food. If you were a vegetarian like me, you could probably live on roots & shoots. Or even curd rice the whole of your life. But, if your perception of what food is, is a little more - let's say a chicken piece, a burger, with some mayonnaise, some sauce, a pepsi - just a minimal burger. The more exotic ones I am not even remotely aware of. So, satisfaction is what is driving one to get exactly those set of things for oneself. So, the problem (or the key!) actually lies in the mind which perceives some things as right, some as wrong, some as sufficient and some as not! So, if it is only mind which perceives, what will happen when there is no mind??? Hmm.....would we still exist?