How much really, we need?
Most of us keep acquiring wealth
throughout our life. Ultimately, we die leaving everything that we acquired during
our lifetime. Nothing goes along with us. This is an universal truth. Everybody
knows this. Nevertheless, we keep running after wealth. We keep seeing our bank
passbooks and ultimately die leaving the entire bank balance sometimes even
without a nominee.
How much we really need? The answer
is-Not much. Even the richest needs just a room with a bed to sleep. He cannot
eat at the most say four times a day and can drive only one car. But things
become different when we attach ego to everything. If a particular person lives
in two bed rooms I must live in at least four bed room flat or so on. We want
to look better than others by hook or crook. It is here that the problem germinates.
We try to acquire things not only to meet out our essential requirement rather keep
on craving for fulfilment of egocentric ambitions.
How much a greedy person requires,
perhaps limitless. Why is it so? Because we are over ambitious. We are
self-centred. We do not believe in almighty. We do not even believe in our own
strength or in the capacity of our children. That is why we want to acquire
enormous wealth so that not only myself but my generations together should
remain affluent.
In the ancient time, there was a bad
practice of burying servants and enough material things along with a dying king.
This was done with the notion that the things buried along with the dead king would
ultimately be made available to him as per his requirements. What was this?
Nothing but foolishness. Many innocent persons used to lose their lives because
of this.
Material achievements like money, land,
house and posts are useful as long as these add to happiness in our lives. If
they cross that limit and become a permanent source of trouble, then we must
get out of such things.
It is a universal truth that we leave
everything while we depart from this world. Not even the richest men could
carry anything. That is why many millionaires donate their wealth for charities.
That gives peace of mind and helps in the welfare of mankind. They need to be
helped for getting even the basic facilities like food and clothes. We can
strengthen our soul by helping such persons.
While food is required for sustaining
the body system, prayer is equally rather more important for spiritual requirement.
We can not live in peace unless we develop the art of self-satisfaction . We
must realize that the material achievements have their own limitations. These
things cannot take us beyond a point. We must understand it and try to develop
a sense of balance in our attitudes towards men and things around us. Then
alone we can live a meaningful life.
There are many people in this world
who have set examples in this regard. Having realised uselessness of enormous
wealth, they gifted most of their assets for charity. We must have the source
for fulfilment of the essential requirements like food, shelter, health and
education. Anything beyond that should essentially be utilized for public
welfare so that the deprived and the poor are able to live life like a human
being.
There is no end to greed. The moment
we are able to fulfil our one aspiration, something else crops up. This endless
chain of unfulfilled desires continues till we leave this world when everything
that we earned throughout our lives, are left out. This is the ultimate. We did
not come to this world of our own choice nor shall we go as per our desire. In
between we have freedom to choose our lives. The question is? -what is our
choice. We can have our own ways but we can not get satisfaction out of
material achievements’ sense of detachment with material things is required.