Wealth for Good Purpose

Meaning: The line of Rigved 10/117//6 has given us about the instruction that - "Wealth should not be with man with bad tendencies. He is not able to do good to his associates with wealth. Thus a man who enjoys the wealth alone is certainly a thief and a sinner".

Message: The emotions of greed, attachment, a feeling of intoxicated superiority and arrogance are created with wealth. Even the most intelligent people get trapped in the net of these emotions, then what to say about men with bad tendencies? They become 'mad' with the intoxication of money and immerse themselves in indulgence of desires without thinking of what is proper or improper. We see all around us men with sinful intelligence who have the treasure of household necessities like grains, money and plenty of means of comfort and luxury. They seem to be very wealthy and happy. But is it so in reality? Not at all. They are not able to enjoy all the material comforts, and in reality those material comforts make them their executioner for them. The wealth accumulated with sinful and bad tendencies is like their death.

Such a man always remains unsuccessful in putting that wealth to good use. He wastes away the wealth in eating, drinking and in fulfilling his desires. There is a total lack of the feeling of spending it for societal welfare. Such a man does not feed anyone else on this earth and is not able to use that wealth for any welfare work also.

If such a man uses his wealth in religious works like yagya and in deeds for the benefit of the world, then that same wealth becomes like pure nectar and gives him beneficial results. The birth of wicked immoral conduct and wrong customs starts with money earned sinfully. Criminal activity also increases in the society with that. It supports wicked activity and spreads anarchy.

One who enjoys alone, one who eats by himself without feeding others becomes sinner. When all-round there are countless men who do not get even one full meal, who are hungry and not fully clothed, passing their days wretchedly in huts, and then who can be a bigger sinner than a person living in indulgence and eating rice food? Seen extremely, these men appear very happy, but if observed carefully they are merely undergoing the punishment for their sins and become partners in sins. Such men by not living a life of 'yagya' (i.e. distributing their money, grains, etc for societal welfare), are living with the burden of sins. When they are in need, nobody helps them and scorned by the society, they lead lonely lives.

We must develop the intelligence for discretion between the wealth that satisfies the body, mind and the soul and the wealth that sends a person to quick destruction. It is a thousand times better to eat dry bread or even to remain hungry than food dripping with sins.

The same wealth can prove either deadly or nectarine.