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AVARICE LEADS TO RUIN
Dt. 21-01-1980
A person becomes rich either by inheritance or by self-earning, but the tendency in general is not to remain contented but to possess all that one can as soon as possible.
In the course of such a temptation some may not even hesitate to cherish unlawful desires. The insatiable greed to amass wealth, the eagerness to consume delicious dishes, the inclination to befriend women and to drink intoxicating beverages are the chief causes for the destruction of man.
Greed is like a flame which can reduce to ashes any quantity of hard wood, which if not nipped in the bud, will annihilate the avaricious.
Two parables serve to bring out the consequences of greed, one from Jain scriptures and the other from Panchatantra, said Muni Shri Rajyashvijayaji in his discourse in Pashrvanath Temple.
Three young men and an elderly person travelling through a jungle came across an ant-hill. Under it was a treasure of silver, guarded by a
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cobra. Disregarding the elder's advice, the youth killed the reptile and carried the booty. with them.
A little ahead, a similar ant-hill with a treasure of gold was found and again, despite the old man's warning, the youth killed the cobra and took away the bundle of yellow metal, with a feeling of joy that they had grown richer.
But when they came across a third treasure of gems, they were fatally bitten by a giant sized cobra. The elder one who managed to escape, got the entire treasure and spent it for charitable purposes.
A fox in a forest, lucky to find a hunter and a peacock lying dead, was happy that it could get enough food for winter. But in its anxiety to satisfy its immediate appetite, it tried to chew the string of the hunter's bow, and the string forcibly hit the animal, resulting in its death.
Contentment alone can fetch peace and happiness, while desire leads to a man's ultimate ruin.
Responsibility is the first sign of Maturity.
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