Tuesday 28 October 2014

GREED

GREED: Mother of all EVILS

As most of us know that –Necessity is the Mother of all Inventions, but Few know that  GREED is the Mother of all EVILS. (Even if they knew, people deny it, because, almost everyone is greedy)

In Christianity , greed is the self-serving desire for the pursuit of money, wealth, power, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others. It is generally considered a vice.

In Hindu theologyArishadvarga are the six passions[1] of mind or desire: kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobh (greed), moha (attachment), mada or ahankar (pride) and matsarya (jealousy); the negative characteristics of which prevent man from attaining moksha or salvation.

Buddhism teaches that harboring the three poisons leads to evil (akusala) and suffering (dukkha). The Three Poisons are lobhadvesha and moha, most often translated as "greed," "hate" and "ignorance."Lobha, greed or desire, is attraction to something we think will gratify us.

And in almost all religions, Greed is shown as a negative trait, and is not to be cultivated by individuals as a character.

The English word "greed" usually is defined as attempting to possess more than one needs or desires, especially at the expense of others. In simple words - to have more and more of everything.
We can categorize,  Greed , into three levels ,viz; Individual, Corporate and Nations level.

Individuals may be greedy to posses wealth, power, fame, love, etc., Desire to have enough wealth, money to live a decent living is not greed. But , to have it in hoards, is what you call greed. Now a days , desire for material possessions also is encouraged, and not by  just through advertising. People who have earned wealth and the possessions that go with it are held up high as role models. Because our culture looks to money-makers as heroes -- and money makers believe themselves to be wise and virtuous -- we don't see the destructive force of desire until it is too late. Corporations making consumer goods  , in the modern world are the biggest culprits in enhancing the Greed element in our society. Corporations that make consumer goods, spend fortunes developing new products and persuading consumers through advertising that they must have these new products. Thus greed grows the economy, but as we see from the financial crisis, greed also can destroy it. And the number of corporations making consumer goods are ever increasing and they are all visible in all the Malls and super Markets that are cropping up even in small towns, encouraging buying, even though they are not  a necessity. People , buy a product, because , it is simply available in the market. The same is visible, in two wheeler and car segment and other consumer sectors. They lure you with cheap loans and discounts , throughout the year. They  make Profits at the expense of consumers , who are mere scapegoats , for their greed. So individuals, run after earning more and more money, by all means. That’s , one of the main reasons for increased corruption in our society, after the big bang of Consumerism in our country.  May be a small  example , to  convince the effect of Consumerism. Take Soft Drinks Industry. They flooded the market with so many brands, especially Multi Nationals. They have huge advertising budgets to lure consumers, by roping in famous and Popular sportsmen and actors of the country. Now, a situation has come, that , we have to purchase drinking water . Because, these, use large quantities of the ground water , for their production and other activities. (ofcourse , I am not saying that , they are the sole reason for drinking water scarcity) . Even in villages , people , instead of offering water to guests, they offer , soft drinks. What they do with huge profits? Is it not greed to rule the market ? As an eye wash , they do some charity.  This is how , our Natural properties/treasures are raped and are being raped. This is how, we have destructed our environment , almost, beyond repair.
And coming to Nations, their greed is to rule the world , through their economies and military power, need not be explained .
Even Religions , which  preach greed as negative trait, are greedy enough to lure people into their fold by means of money, fear and coercion, etc.,
Most of the people are religious in our country, and even being religious , contrary to what their religions preach, they are greedy to have more and more of material wealth and others ,even by devious means,  and pray to God to fulfill, their greedy desires and even offer/give some of their booty as offerings to the deity . Even , deities also seems to be greedier, as they want more and more offerings from their divotees and increase the temple coffers, almost equal to a state financial budget.
Then, what’s the solution to stop the greediness in us.
All of us, have to start Minimalistic Living  ----  living in moderation, living with things that are essential for a simple living and with love and compassion to all beings. This is essential, not only for us, but to our future generations, who may/will not have the luxury of fresh air and water and clean environment to live, if we continue living with same levels of greediness for everything and anything.

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