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Non-possessiveness and charity
The moralists say that if grime has stuck to the feet, it should be washed away immediately. Do not let it remain. But the better thing is to avoid such a situation. Likewise, to control one's desires and to adopt the vow of non-possessiveness is the best path. But until one is ready for that path, it is at least better to wash away the grime of accumulation by doing charity. Of course, in charity, the risk of becoming arrogant is high since one is revered so much. In non-possessiveness, there is no such risk because it arises only from simplicity.
Therefore, Jainism propounds that one must put a brake on desires. One must learn to stop or at the very least, regulate the vehicle of life, which meanders aimlessly and without limits, crushing others in its way. However, one can cause injury to others and then condone that act by applying balm on their wounds. But this is not life's ideal.
Do you know that in olden days, a special medicine known as mimāi was made from human blood? A man would be tied and hung upside-down. A wound would then be inflicted on his head so that his blood dropped into a container below.
After the required amount of blood was collected for the mimăi, the man would be untied, fed well and nurtured back to good health. And then the process would be repeated for more blood.
The above example is to illustrate that hurting people and then bandaging them cannot be a part of sādhanā. Nor is it correct to first cheat others, deprive them and then do charity to pat one's ego. It is far superior to adopt the vow of non-possessiveness, to give up all that is dear, to stop deceit, theft and exploitation, Sacrifice has always been considered superior to charity.
If your mind has not yet evolved to the extent that you can completely ignore all of life's needs, you can at least begin by short-listing them. It would indeed be tragic if you spent most of your life only chasing material wealth without realizing any sublime goals in life. Does it ever happen that a person goes to the market without knowing what he wants to buy? Do we not make a list of what we require from the market?
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