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Paradoxes of growth

Growth is not just gaining the essential but also losing the superficial

Growth per se is insignificant. Proliferation has to be proportionate. Aptitude should match the age and spiritual advancement, mental calibre. Single dimensional expansion is baneful and worse than regression. We identify bulge with strength by mistake. Swelling should befit the girth of the finger, lest something must be incongruous.

Growth is not always positive. It may be malignant, lopsided and horizontal. There is a thin difference between extraordinariness and abnormality. No tumour can be benign; at the most it can be non-malignant. Anything that grows extra is deleterious and detrimental at least in distorting appearance, either in the form of gall, lump or wart. Uniform growth is symmetrical. Unnatural aggrandisement is ugly, awful and horrible.

Relative and dependent

Growth is not an absolute phenomenon to exert or exact authority. It is always relative and dependent. One is taller or shorter with one more around. Affluence or apartheid is a comparative contemplation.

In a few cases, growth and decline are the two sides of the same coin. Increase in supply decreases the demand and vice versa. Every growth is linked with some other improvement. Increase in prosperity results in reduction in poverty. Economy is a cobweb with every fibre intricately woven. Rise in money circulation aggravates inflation with too much currency chasing too few a goods. Surge in one may have ripples all over. Copious flowering in bamboo groves increases fertility and thereby fecundity in rodents. Simultaneous blossoming of this bizarre grass has led to luxuriant multiplication of rats in a region. Pilferage of food grains paved the way for famine and inability of the authorities to rush relief resulted in rebellion, riots and revolution. Hence, bamboo has the potential to become both canon and flute, depending upon the manifestation of circumstances.

Uneven growth is an anomaly, causing concern for the top echelons from time immemorial. A Tibetan chief pooled the properties of all his subjects and shared them equitably among the families. He tried thrice, in vain, in his mission to strive for equanimity. Still, he found a few waxing rich and many waning poor after the lapse of time.

Physical unevenness too has repercussions. Fatty or plump physique will have hidden disorders yet to be diagnosed. Obesity is `stretching sideward' that fails to commensurate with vertical elongation. Man may also vegetate without unison of mind and body.

Unproductive growth

Unproductive growth may lead to depletion of resources. The first truth in breeding is `cut short the size; it will improve the yield'. Excess foliage causes sterility in plants. Pruning and training are must to kindle reproductive faculties in shrubs. Nature is unique. When we try to outdo a plant, it musters enormous strength for resilience. Weed seed lies dormant for years to germinate in conducive climate. Lower forms of species have more capacity for regeneration. Nematodes and lizards recuperate their severed organs expeditiously to regain their shape. Cockroaches remain undaunted in the midst of nuclear holocausts. Evolution of man occurred not by mere growth but through loss of many appendages. Hence, growth is not just gaining the essential but also losing the superficial.

No growth is growth in stipulations. Malthusian theory suggested three phases in population growth. The first phase had more birth rate and death rate. In the second phase birth rate increased with diminishing death rate due to medical intervention. The third phase is characterised by declining birth and death rates. It stabilises as zero growth rate and all developed nations have attained this ideal stage. The fourth phase is bound to occur sooner or later, with death rate exceeding the birth rate and we are heading towards it, with our own makings.

Growth is meaningless unless we have correspondent distribution. Otherwise, it is akin to elephantiasis. Growth orchestrated with distribution is development. A country can boast of its development only when it has cultural, scientific and spiritual progress with hale and hearty citizens. Per capita satisfaction is far more important than per capita income.

V. IRAI ANBU

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