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The path to spiritual enhancement
Someone once said, “Lord! I aspire neither for country nor kingdom, not even fame or worldly respect. All I desire is that even if I go to hell, I may remember your name." He whose heart is overflowing with devotion becomes so intense in it that even if someone tells him that he will go to hell, his only response will be, “Let me go to hell a thousand times, but may my love for the Lord never leave my heart. If my heart is alight with the eternal flame of God's love, then even the dungeons of hell will be illumined."
But Kūņika's devotion was not a true one. It was born out of the need to revive his image and to find a place in heaven. Can heaven be attained thus?
What this means is that the desire for possessions results in the downfall of man. Wherever man is overcome by possessiveness, his life is filled with darkness. He may think that he is bringing wealth under his control. But actually, he is falling prey to his desire. He neither belongs to himself nor to his family nor to anyone else. Neither can he redeem himself nor another. Defeated from all spheres, he loves no one and is loved by none. He becomes the object of universal hatred.
Thus we see that trapped in the web of possessiveness, a person loses his sanity. Like a plague, it ravages him. Like a drug, it enslaves him. He is obsessed with his bank balances and account books. His desires keep on multiplying. Neither his family gets anything from him nor the community or nation. He is unable to attend to the needs and problems of those around him. His sole aim is to fill his coffers. The scriptures call such a person a dummy. The farmer places a scarecrow in the centre of the field to scare away birds and animals. After all, it just has the face of a man, it is not human. As the proverb goes:
The scarecrow of the field neither feeds others nor himself.
Similarly, what kind of a person is he who neither enjoys his own wealth, nor lets others benefit from it? He has the face of man, but not the heart of man. Humane qualities have deserted him, he is inert.
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