Greed

"'Bhishma said, "Attachment, hate, loss of judgment, joy, sorrow, vanity, lust, anger, pride, procrastination, idleness, desire, aversion, jealousy, and all other sinful acts are all known by the common name of ignorance.[457] Hear now, O king, in detail, about its tendency, growth and other features after which thou enquirest. These two viz., ignorance and covetousness, know, O king, are the same (in substance). Both are productive of the same fruits and same faults, O Bharata! Ignorance has its origin in covetousness. As covetousness grows, ignorance also grows. Ignorance exists there where covetousness exists. As covetousness decreases, ignorance also decreases. It rises with the rise of covetousness. Manifold again is the course that it takes. The root of covetousness is loss of judgment. Loss of judgment, again, is its inseparable attribute. Eternity is ignorance's course. The time when ignorance appears is when objects of covetousness are not won. From one's ignorance proceeds covetousness, and from the latter proceeds ignorance. (Covetousness, therefore, is both the cause and consequence of ignorance). Covetousness is productive of all. For these reasons, every one should avoid covetousness. Janaka, and Yuvanaswa, and Vrishadarbhi, and Prasenajit, and other kings acquired heaven in consequence of their having repressed covetousness. Do thou also in the sight of all persons, avoid covetousness by a strong resolution, O chief of the Kurus! Avoiding covetousness thou shalt obtain happiness both here and in the next world."'"

"'Bhishma said, "Hear, O King, what the foundation is of sin. Covetousness alone is a great destroyer (of merit and goodness). From covetousness proceeds sin. It is from this source that sin and irreligiousness flow, together with great misery. This covetousness is the spring of also all the cunning and hypocrisy in the world. It is covetousness that makes men commit sin. From covetousness proceeds wrath, from covetousness flows lust, and it is from covetousness that loss of judgment, deception, pride, arrogance, and malice, as also vindictiveness, shamelessness, loss of prosperity, loss of virtue, anxiety, and infamy spring, miserliness, cupidity, desire for every kind of improper act, pride of birth, pride of learning, pride of beauty, pride of wealth, pitilessness for all creatures, malevolence towards all, mistrust in respect of all, insincerity towards all, appropriation of other people's wealth, ravishment of other people's wives, harshness of speech, anxiety, propensity to speak ill of others, violent craving for the indulgence of lust, gluttony, liability to premature death, violent propensity towards malice, irresistible liking for falsehood, unconquerable appetite for indulging in the passions, insatiable desire for indulging the ear, evil-speaking, boastfulness, arrogance, non-doing of duties, rashness, and perpetration of every kind of evil act,--all these proceed from covetousness. In life, men are unable, whether infants or youth or adults, to abandon covetousness. Such is the nature of covetousness that it never decays even with the decay of life. Like the ocean that can never be filled by the constant discharge of even innumerable rivers of immeasurable depths, covetousness is incapable of being gratified by acquisitions to any extent.

The covetousness, however, which is never gratified by acquisitions and satiated by the accomplishment of desires, that which is not known in its real nature by the gods, the Gandharvas, the Asuras, the great snakes, and, in fact, by all classes of beings, that irresistible passion, along with that folly which invites the heart to the unrealities of the world, should ever be conquered by a person of cleansed soul. Pride, malice, slander, crookedness, and incapacity to hear other people's good, are vices, O descendant of Kuru, that are to be seen in persons of uncleansed soul under the domination of covetousness. Even persons of great learning who bear in their minds all the voluminous scriptures, and who are competent to dispel the doubts of others, show themselves in this respect to be of weak understanding and feel great misery in consequence of this passion. Covetous men are wedded to envy and anger. They are outside the pale of good behaviour. Of crooked hearts, the speeches they utter are sweet. They resemble, therefore, dark pits whose mouths are covered with grass. They attire themselves in the hypocritical cloak of religion. Of low minds, they rob the world, setting up (if need be) the standard of religion and virtue. Relying upon the strength of apparent reasons, they create diverse kinds of schisms in religion. Intent upon accomplishing the purposes of cupidity, they destroy the ways of righteousness. When wicked-souled persons under the domination of covetousness apparently practise the duties of righteousness, the consequence that results is that the desecrations committed by them soon become current among men. Pride, anger, arrogance, insensibility, paroxysms of joy and sorrow, and self-importance, all these, O descendant of Kuru, are to be seen in persons swayed by covetousness. Know that they who are always under the influence of covetousness are wicked. I shall now tell thee of those about whom thou askest, viz.

Let us live happily then, free from greed among the greedy! among men who are greedy let us dwell free from greed!

From greed comes grief, from greed comes fear; he who is free from greed knows neither grief nor fear.

An envious greedy, dishonest man does not become respectable by means of much talking only, or by the beauty of his complexion.

Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

Who hoard and who enjoin upon the people avarice. And whosoever turneth away, still Allah is the Absolute, the Owner of Praise.

Who hoard their wealth and enjoin avarice on others, and hide that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of His bounty. For disbelievers We prepare a shameful doom;

And ye devour heritages with devouring greed.

All this, whatsoever exists in the universe, should be covered by the Lord. Having renounced (the unreal), enjoy (the Real). Do not covet the wealth of any man.

The word "enjoy" is also interpreted by the great commentator Sankaracharya as "protect," because knowledge of our true Self is the greatest protector and sustainer. If we do not have this knowledge, we cannot be happy; because nothing on this external plane of phenomena is permanent or dependable. He who is rich in the knowledge of the Self does not covet external power or possession.

Those who are devoid of discrimination and fail to distinguish between real and unreal, the fleeting and the permanent, set their hearts on the changeable things of this world; hence they entangle themselves in the net of insatiable desire, which leads inevitably to disappointment and suffering. To such, death must seem a reality because they identify themselves with that which is born and which dies. But the wise, who see deeper into the nature of things, are no longer deluded by the charm of the phenomenal world and do not seek for permanent happiness among its passing enjoyments.

Therefore the sage seeks to satisfy (the craving of) the belly, and not the (insatiable longing of the) eyes. He puts from him the latter, and prefers to seek the former.

The Doors of Hell Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pass,-- The door of Lust, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three! He who shall turn aside from entering All those three gates of Narak, wendeth straight To find his peace, and comes to Swarga's gate.

They comprehend not, the Unheavenly, How Souls go forth from Me; nor how they come Back unto Me: nor is there Truth in these, Nor purity, nor rule of Life. "This world Hath not a Law, nor Order, nor a Lord," So say they: "nor hath risen up by Cause Following on Cause, in perfect purposing, But is none other than a House of Lust." And, this thing thinking, all those ruined ones-- Of little wit, dark-minded--give themselves To evil deeds, the curses of their kind. Surrendered to desires insatiable, Full of deceitfulness, folly, and pride, In blindness cleaving to their errors, caught Into the sinful course, they trust this lie As it were true--this lie which leads to death-- Finding in Pleasure all the good which is, And crying "Here it finisheth!"

The spoils of cities razed and warriors slain, We share with justice, as with toil we gain; But to resume whate’er thy avarice craves (That trick of tyrants) may be borne by slaves. Yet if our chief for plunder only fight, The spoils of Ilion shall thy loss requite, Whene’er, by Jove’s decree, our conquering powers Shall humble to the dust her lofty towers.”

Then Phœbus left him. Fierce Minerva flies To stern Pelides, and triumphing, cries: “O loved of Jove! this day our labours cease, And conquest blazes with full beams on Greece. Great Hector falls; that Hector famed so far, Drunk with renown, insatiable of war, Falls by thy hand, and mine! nor force, nor flight, Shall more avail him, nor his god of light. See, where in vain he supplicates above, Roll’d at the feet of unrelenting Jove; Rest here: myself will lead the Trojan on, And urge to meet the fate he cannot shun.”

“You to whose care our city-gates belong, Set wide your portals to the flying throng: For lo! he comes, with unresisted sway; He comes, and desolation marks his way! But when within the walls our troops take breath, Lock fast the brazen bars, and shut out death.” Thus charged the reverend monarch: wide were flung The opening folds; the sounding hinges rung. Phœbus rush’d forth, the flying bands to meet; Struck slaughter back, and cover’d the retreat, On heaps the Trojans crowd to gain the gate, And gladsome see their last escape from fate. Thither, all parch’d with thirst, a heartless train, Hoary with dust, they beat the hollow plain: And gasping, panting, fainting, labour on With heavier strides, that lengthen toward the town. Enraged Achilles follows with his spear; Wild with revenge, insatiable of war.

Then he threw his dirty old wallet, all tattered and torn over his shoulder with the cord by which it hung, and went back to sit down upon the threshold; but the suitors went within the cloisters, laughing and saluting him, “May Jove, and all the other gods,” said they, “grant you whatever you want for having put an end to the importunity of this insatiable tramp. We will take him over to the mainland presently, to king Echetus, who kills every one that comes near him.”

Truth, only truth protects the land, By truth unharmed our houses stand; Neglect of truth makes men distressed, And truth in highest heaven is blessed. Then how can I, rebellious, break Commandments which my father spake-- I ever true and faithful found, And by my word of honour bound? My father's bridge of truth shall stand Unharmed by my destructive hand: Not folly, ignorance, or greed My darkened soul shall thus mislead. Have we not heard that God and shade Turn from the hated offerings paid By him whose false and fickle mind No pledge can hold, no promise bind? Truth is all duty: as the soul, It quickens and supports the whole. The good respect this duty: hence Its sacred claims I reverence. The Warrior's duty I despise That seeks the wrong in virtue's guise: Those claims I shrink from, which the base, Cruel, and covetous embrace. The heart conceives the guilty thought, Then by the hand the sin is wrought, And with the pair is leagued a third, The tongue that speaks the lying word. Fortune and land and name and fame To man's best care have right and claim; The good will aye to truth adhere, And its high laws must men revere. Base were the deed thy lips would teach, Approved as best by subtle speech. Shall I my plighted promise break, That I these woods my home would make? Shall I, as Bharat's words advise, My father's solemn charge despise? Firm stands the oath which then before My father's face I soothly swore, Which Queen Kaikeyi's anxious ear Rejoiced with highest joy to hear. Still in the wood will I remain, With food prescribed my life sustain, And please with fruit and roots and flowers Ancestral shades and heavenly powers. Here every sense contented, still Heeding the bounds of good and ill, My settled course will I pursue, Firm in my faith and ever true. Here in this wild and far retreat Will I my noble task complete; And Fire and Wind and Moon shall be Partakers of its fruit with me.

Then Rama raised him up, and pressed His brother to his loving breast, And sweetly as a wild swan cried To Bharat dark and lotus-eyed: "So just and true thy generous soul, Thy hand may well this earth control: But many a sage his aid will lend, With counsellor, and peer, and friend: With these advise: their counsel ask, And so perform thy arduous task. The moon his beauty may forgo, The cold forsake the Hills of Snow, And Ocean o'er his banks may sweep, But I my father's word will keep. Now whether love of thee or greed Thy mother led to plan the deed, Forth from thy breast the memory throw, And filial love and reverence show."

2 Lead us anew to happiness, O Agni; lead us beyond all danger and affliction. 3 Far from us, Agni, put thou all diseases let them strike lauds that have no saving Agni. 4 Preserve us, Agni, with perpetual succour, refulgent in the dwelling which thou lovest. 5 Give not us up a prey to sin, O Agni, the greedy enemy that brings us trouble; 6 Such as thou art, born after Law, O Agni when lauded give protection to our bodies, 7 Thou, well discerning both these classes, comest to men at early morn, O holy Agni. 8 To him have we addressed our pious speeches, I, Mana's son, to him victorious Agni.

2 Cheered by this meath Indra, whose hand wields thunder, rent piecemeal Ahi who barred up the waters, 3 Indra, this Mighty One, the Dragon's slayer, sent forth the flood of waters to the ocean. 4 To him who worshippeth hath Indra given many and matchless gifts. He slayeth Vrtra. 5 To him who poured him gifts he gave up Surya,−Indra, the God, the Mighty, to the mortal; 6 Once to the driver of his chariot, Kutsa, he gave up greedy Surya, plague of harvest; 7 So have we brought our hymn to thee, O Indra, strengthening thee and fain ourselves for glory. 8 Thus the Grtsamadas for thee, O Hero, have wrought their hymn and task as seeking favour. 9 Now may that wealthy Cow of thine, O Indra, give in return a boon to him who lauds thee,

2 Ye ministers, to him who with the lightning smote, like a tree, the rain−withholding Vrtra− 3 Ye ministers, to him who smote Drhhikas who drove the kine forth, and discovered Vala, 4 Him who did Urana to death, Adhvaryus! though showing arms ninety−and−nine in number; 5 Ye ministers, to him who struck down Svasna, and did to death Vyamsa and greedy Susna, 6 Ye ministers, to him who as with thunder demolished Sambara's hundred ancient castles; 7 Ye ministers, to him who slew a hundred thousand, and cast them down upon earth's bosom; 8 Ministers, men, whatever thing ye long for obtain ye quickly bringing gifts to Indra. 9 Do ye, O ministers, obey his order: that purified in wood, in wood uplift ye. 10 As the cow's udder teems with milk, Adhvaryus, so fill with Soma Indra, liberal giver. 11 Him, ministers, the Lord of heavenly treasure and all terrestrial wealth that earth possesses, 12 Prepare thyself to grant us that great booty, O Vasu, for abundant is thy treasure.

1. Indra, this might of thine I praise most highly for the sacrifice That thou, O Lord of Power, dost slay Vritra with might 2. For thee this Soma hath been pressed, in whose wild joy thou madest once Sambara Divodasa's prey: O Indra, drink! 3. Come unto us, O Indra, dear, still conquering, unconcealable! Wide as a mountain spread on all sides, Lord of heaven! 4. Joy, mightiest Indra, that perceives, sprung from deep Soma draughts, whereby Thou smitest down the greedy fiend,-that joy we crave! 5. Adityas, very mighty ones, grant to our children and our seed This lengthened term of life that they may live long days! 6. Though knowest, Indra, Thunder-armed! how to avoid destructive powers, As one secure from pitfalls each returning day. 7. Drive ye disease and strife away, drive ye away malignity: Adityas, keep us far removed from sore distress! 8. Drive Soma, Indra, Lord of bays! and let it cheer thee: the stone, like a well-guided courser,

1. Sing forth to him the holy, most munificent, sublime with his refulgent glow, To Agni, ye Upastutas 2. Agni, he conquers by thine aid that brings him store of valiant sons and does great deeds, Whose bond of friendship is thy choice 3. Sing praise to him the Lord of light! The Gods have made the God to be their messenger, To bear oblation to the Gods. 4. Anger not him who is our guest! He is the bright God Agni, praised by many a man, God Hotar, skilled in sacrifice. 5. May Agni, worshipped, bring us bliss: may the gift, blessed one! and sacrifice bring bliss. Yea, may our eulogies bring bliss. 6. Thee have we chosen skilfullest in sacrifice, immortal Priest among the Gods, Wise finisher of this holy rite. 7. Bring us that splendour, Agni, which may overcome each greedy fiend in our abode, And the malicious wrath of men! 8. Soon as the eager Lord of men is friendly unto Manu's race Agni averteth from us all the Rakshasas!

as hostile to men, cattle, and home. 1. Nissâlâ, the bold, the greedy demon (?dhishana), and (the female demon) with long-drawn howl, the bloodthirsty; all the daughters of Kanda, the Sadânvâs do we destroy. 2. We drive you out of the stable, out of the axle (of the wagon), and the body of the wagon; we chase you, O ye daughters of Magundî, from the house. 3. In yonder house below, there the grudging demons (arâyî) shall exist; there ruin shall prevail, and all the witches! 4. May (Rudra), the lord of beings, and Indra. drive forth from here the Sadânvâs; those that am seated on the foundation of the house Indra shall overcome with his thunderbolt! 5. Whether ye belong to (the demons) of inherited disease, whether ye have been dispatched by men, or whether ye have originated from the Dasyus (demon-like aborigines), vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs! 6. About their dwelling-places I did swiftly course, as if on a race-course. I have won all contests with you: vanish from here, O ye Sadânvâs!