The body may be beautiful or well-adorned. But it is useful only when consciousness is present in it. Even loving ones will be eager to get rid of a lifeless body. Gentleness may be a valuable virtue, but it cannot be considered great if it is not associated with humility.Wealth can provide the means and facilities, but if it is not used appropriately, it can neither protect one’s life nor help another one. The mistake we have been committing is singing the glories of wealth and considering it an enhancer of fame and abilities. This is a gross misconception. If it were true, then wealthy people would have worked for the world’s welfare, and backwardness would have been wiped out. If the rich’s hoarded wealth could be used to uplift the downtrodden and scarcity-stricken masses of the land, then the world map would have been different.
There is adequate wealth in the world. If it can be shared judiciously, all people can live happily and proceed on the path of overall progress. But when wealth is used for pleasure, hoarding, and a display of ego, it is not only being wasted but also building an undesirable environment.
If the course of a waterfall is blocked, it creates dangerous floods. If an elephant is not controlled, it will go on stamping in the fields, uprooting the trees and plants, and pulling down huts. Even the people who come in its way are not spared. Wealth is like a crazy elephant; it needs to be commanded by generosity.
The only curse of modern society is that everyone wants to spend their earnings and wealth for selfish ends, displaying ego and majestic living. If this trend continues, its horrifying consequences will be much more visible in the future. The stomach capacity is limited; if you fill it beyond that capacity, it will create problems in the form of diseases like vomiting, dysentery, and ulcers. If one understands this awful reality, it leads to only one conclusion: Whatever money one may earn by honest means has to be spent on righteous living. This is true not only for money but also for capabilities, skills, education, and other resources. These virtues should also be ethically used for arresting the downfall.
The three treasures of the physical plane are considered the means of progress. The fortunes of an individual or society are based on wealth, health, and competence. This is fine, so long as the restraints of morality, social responsibility, and the noble virtues are strictly applied. Man can earn any amount as long as immoral means and improper methods are not used. However, the earnings should not be considered entirely his own.
“By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer, we often find the answer to our own. – Dieter F. Uchtdorf”
It must be remembered that man is a social animal and his overall progress is possible only with the contribution and cooperation of society. Whatever has been received from the community has to be repaid. Otherwise, it may be considered plundering, and all the doors to show gratitude or repay the debt to society by returning its favors will be closed. In such a situation, only two categories of people will remain -the exploiters and the exploited. Then there will be no place for a system of cooperation, co-sharing, and equality to develop. If empathy and generosity are missing from life, then ruthlessness in which capable people will exploit the weak will prevail. If the big-fish-swallowing-the-small fish type of society prevails, then all the greatness attached to the human birth and man being acclaimed as the heir of the Divine and the crown prince of evolution will have no meaning. If the policy of “earn and eat” is accepted, then the innocent, undeveloped, handicapped, and incapable people will lose the right to live. According to the economic laws, half of the human population must commit suicide in such a case. Even older people will lose the right to live. The scenario of the world will resemble a jungle, where one wolf eats up another. How dreadful will the world be then?
The capable people of the family earn, and others survive on that. This can be termed as responsibility, tradition, and generosity. This is the correct distribution of resources. This is the proper form of sharing. This can also be called pious and worthy living. The glory of human life cannot be attributed to anything less. The utility of the wealth also lies in its sharing. This is the way to uplift the oppressed and lead them to further progress. The practice of gau-grass, daily panch yagya of the Indian tradition, zakat in Islam, and karah prasad in Sikhism — are all rituals based on the principle of sharing the daily meal. Time is also a resource. It constitutes wealth. Everyone possesses this type of wealth but in varying degrees. A wealthy person can easily share his resources, but even in a busy schedule and limited means, one must curtail some of his comforts and regularly set aside some part of his resources for selfless objectives. To be miserly on this front is a betrayal of human virtue.Charity is sometimes virtue and sometimes not. You can use a weapon for good as well as evil. Only if the charity is invested in the refinement of thoughts, emotion, and empathy can we be sure that virtue has been rightly utilized to create a bright future and for the implementation of yugdharma. Otherwise, foolish people will be cheated by the wicked ones in one way or another. They will be misled in the name of virtue. It should be remembered that the magnificent plan of creating a bright future cannot be achieved without arousing a flow of idealistic emotions and thoughts.
“You often say, ‘I would give, but only to the deserving.’ The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish. – Kahlil Gibran”
Source: Akhand Jyoti Magazine May-June 2021