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DISCOURSE 84
to his shop and to visit holy places. In his life-time, about forty years from today, he gave fifteen lakhs as donations for various noble causes. But he was very economical. When a servant brought vegetables from the market he had to account for every paisa. If the servant was in need, gave him even a thousand rupees as a gift.
The great Acharya who has written the commentary on Dharmabindu says,
(C
" यः काकिणीमप्यपथप्ररन्नामन्वेषते निष्क सहस्त्रतुल्याम् । कालेन कोटीष्वपि मुक्तहस्तस्तस्यानुबंधं न जहाति लक्ष्मीः ||
"
Listen to the meaning of this sloka: "Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth never leaves the man who searches for even a cowrie (in ancient times a cowrie was used as the smallest unit of currency), which has fallen on the way, deeming it equivalent to one thousand gold coins; but who at a time of necessity spends a crore, (ten million rupees) with a free hand and a free heart".
THE LARGER THE INCOME THE LARGER THE EXPENDITURE
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Probably, to-day this principle does not appeal to your mind because now-a-days extravagant expenditure has become a symbol of excessive affluence. The man who spends money wastefully and extravagantly passes for a wealthy man. Selfish people praise such a man. Such a man goes to a hotel with three or four friends and spends one or two hundred rupees. He goes to see a movie and spends fifty or a hundred rupees. Is all this expenditure essential? How much wasteful expenditure goes on even at home? "We have money and we spend it". This seems to be the attitude of these ignorant people. Ignorant people are destitute of wisdom and prudence. On account of this, another serious vice has appeared in the lives of rich people and that is drinking liquors. Drinking liquors ! drinking foreign liquors! This has become a fashion in the new rich families. Such people do not and cannot realise the propriety of time. Their intellects are incapacitated by their ignominious infatuations. They squander away two hundred rupees visiting
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