Money can mess our lives

With each passing day, the world around us is becoming increasingly materialistic. We are possessive and avaricious about our worldly wealth and go through indescribable stress to earn, own and retain it against all odds.

Sometimes, it is the very riches that we have worked hard for end up paving the way to a host of other problems like breach of trust, selfishness and lack of discretion.

A tale from the Panchatantra highlights the problems of hoarding excess wealth. Once lived an intelligent Sanyasi called Deva Sharma. People often solicited his advice and paid him for the offices. Though Deva Sharma had renounced the world, he did not hesitate to collect a sizeable amount of wealth his way.

His altruistic way of life did not permit him to use the money. Nevertheless, since he was very fond of his assets, he bundled the money and checked on it every single day. Whenever he went out for some reason, he made it a point to carry the bundle along with him.

A malefactor called Ashadhabhoothi sighted the treasure and hoped to own it someday. He ruminated on the various options to siphon off the riches and finally decided to cheat Deva Sharma off it.

He approached the Sanyasi; spoke about the ephemeral nature of human life and expre- ssed his desire to be initiated with the Shiva Mantra with the hope of attaining emancipation. Deva Sharma bit the bait unwittingly. He accepted Ash- adhabhoothi as his disciple and allowed him to stay with him.

Over a period of time, Ashadhabhoothi won the confidence of his Guru. One day, when the duo set out to honour an invitation, they came across a river. Deva Sharma decided to bathe. He instructed Ashadhabhoothi to guard the treasure when he bathed.

The hypocrite who had been waiting for this opportune moment all along nodded his head roundly and took custody of the loot. When Deva Sharma entered the water, he tiptoed away, robbing the Sanyasi of the money and also the trust that he had reposed in him.

Most of us are like Deva Sharma. We are making money or stowing it away, dreading to lose all the time. This syndrome can become detrimental to our physical and mental health in the long run for money can mess our lives.