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The path to spiritual enhancement
به اسانه داری
ای
و یارانه
and therein lies the dictum of non-possessiveness.
This was Ananda's solution to his conflict. The control of desires. He accumulated wealth, but did not expand it further. He put an end to his desires and attachment by adopting a simple practice. He told himself, “I will not increase my wealth nor will I keep any more than this." In this manner, his life was blessed by contentment, by icchā parimāņa.
The conflict prevalent in today's world is not just of today - it has existed since time immemorial. Try to get to its roots, and you will see for yourself that its primary reason is the prevalence of desires. The world wars that have shaken the world may have had other reasons as well, but the primary reasons were the unlimited desires of man.
The bloodshed of millions has been caused due to this bottomless pit of desires. When man tried to expand his desires beyond the scope of where his feet could reach, he sowed the seeds of conflict. As his feet trespassed on what was not his, conflict began. For those who have limited facilities and power, their conflict is on a limited scale, their boundary is limited as well. But for those who are powerful, conflicts cross limits and often take on an all-pervading form. Why did the battle of Mahābhārata happen? It was a battle that killed great warriors of India like moths in a flame, a flame that engulfed the culture, civilization, bravery and glory of the country. It was a war that spread darkness and converted a religious land into a graveyard. Destruction of such magnitude only because of unlimited desires!
Let me narrate an analogy. Imagine that two brothers live their entire life from inherited property. In such a situation, how can they teach their children lessons of independence and self worth since they have never earned a living for themselves? Considering they do give those lessons to their children, then if at the end of their lives, they bequeath their large mansions to them, how can they justify what they have taught? I ask this because by bequeathing their wealth to the children, are they not in reality confusing them by causing an upheaval of the
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