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52
The flame of avarice
The Master smiled contentedly, “You have reached the right understanding. You have grasped true knowledge."
Verily, even on getting the wealth of the entire universe, the mind of a greedy man will not find contentment. This is the truth of life. It is the nature of desire that it can never be satisfied. One who attempts to satisfy every desire does not tread the right path. Satisfaction of desires is not the path of spirituality, it is the path of materialism and never begets peace.
Jainism states that desires cannot be satisfied by gaining wealth and objects. Possession of an object does not necessarily satisfy the desire for that object. When the fire of desire starts to kindle, sprinkle the waters of contentment on it. If your mind is content, even your desires will fold and fit into a corner. This is the way to eradicate desires.
If you move ahead in your life with such a view, then you will understand the vow of non-possessiveness, Imagine that a king or a millionaire voluntarily embraces poverty. In the presence of all means of wealth and comfort, he restrains his desires and adopts poverty and austerity as his way of life. Such a man has truly understood the vow of non-possessiveness. If poverty is not accepted voluntarily, but imposed by fate, it cannot bring about peace. Poverty which is self-imposed gives birth to true and absolute non-possessiveness.
Look at Lord Mahāvīra himself. He was born in a royal family and lived in the lap of luxury for thirty years of his life. Yet he found no peace. Had he found peace, he would never have left his home.
On the contrary, those who think that Mahāvīra left because of a sense of emptiness or sūnya, have not understood his inner calling in its completeness.
In this world, we always see two extremes - abundance of wealth on one side and empty pits on the other. While people fall sick due to gluttony, others often die of starvation. Some have so many clothes that they cannot bear their weight while others can barely afford to cover themselves. In the same vein,
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