One should not wrench the benefits of wealth from the dangers of greed, says Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj
Nowadays everyone in India is glued to their television sets to know more about the “high profile” legal cases from across the country. All of a sudden people have started taking interest in judiciary. Those who were not so serious about the laws of land, have become law-conscious. The decisions made by judiciary in recent times has instilled a renewed confidence among the countrymen on the legal system. There is, however, no denial to the fact that public opinion, by and large, is in favour of the current trends reflected in the judgments, emanating from courts, especially in public-interest cases. However, some well-wishers of the society are dismayed to see that. In this rising dust and din, the real point is being missed out, as not much serious attention is being paid to the root of corruption.
Some intellectuals have pointed out that it is the rise in lust for making easy money that has led to corruption on such a scale but the cause of lust for money has not been identified by anyone yet. Since ages, scriptures and sages have spoken about the vices and virtues. Of all the vices like lust, anger, attachment, greed, ego, the most dangerous and subtle in nature is “greed”. It is said that greed is such a kind of hunger that never gets satisfied.
Our desire for food ends when our hunger is appeased, our anger also subsides when its purpose is achieved, but greed creates such a tendency in the mind that does not get satisfied even if we get the entire kingdom. Today we see that on acquiring wealth, men want to acquire a kingdom, having acquired a kingdom, they want to become godfather and even after becoming the one, they are still not satisfied. Hence, it is this tendency, which is created by acquiring wealth, in a person who possesses it, that leads to corruption at all levels. So does it mean that one should not recognise the importance of wealth and remain poor for whole lifeIJ Not really! What is required, in fact is to draw a full and clear picture of wealth and create right perception of the characteristics of wealth so that people could get a balanced view of it. We must remember that all our attitudes and tendencies ensue from our beliefs; therefore, we should have right kinds of beliefs if we want the society to get rid of the evil inclinations.
There is no denial that acquisition of wealth is necessary for sustenance, but we should not take an extreme view of its benefits and must keep in mind the negative inclinations it produces by keeping our tendencies under check, because accumulation of wealth does not only give rise to a host of evil inclinations but also destroys peace and happiness. The funniest thing about wealth is that the one who possesses it is always under threat of loosing it, the one who does not possesses it is always yearning for it and the one who possesses it in abundance is always sad while parting away with it. Thus, wealth connected situation produces nothing but pain.
However people believe that it is natural for human beings to have desire for wealth and its fruits, but they forget the very fact that this tendency of making money gives rise to other negative tendencies by natural cascading effect which are self-destructive. There is no doubt that wealth and its accumulation is one of the primary needs of a man, but it is equally true that this tendency needs to be accompanied by honesty, well-being of the society and self-control, otherwise it leads to havoc.