What is greed? How greed of money affects peace?

Have you ever wondered what is greed? Even if one has a lot of money, they still think of money day and night; “Where can I gather money from?”, “How can I earn more money?”, “How can I protect money?”, “Where can I deposit it so I earn more interest?” Constantly focusing on all of these is exactly what greed of money means.

Param Pujya Dadashri says that, “Greed is to become perpetually engrossed in anything that becomes dear to you. Greed is the reason why you find no satisfaction even after you acquire it.” Reflecting deeply on what is greed helps us realize that it is a constant attachment to things we love, even if we have them enough.

A greedy person is engrossed in thoughts of greed right after waking up in the morning until their eyes close at night. How many rupees they have lying around, how much is in the bank and how much is in other places, all of this is constantly in their awareness. A greedy person hunts down the cheapest price for everything. When in the vegetable market, such a person will walk around for an extra five minutes just to find cheaper vegetables. Then, if the vegetable isn't good, that person will cut off the spoiled part and use it. If such people want to chew paan or drink tea, they'll find out where to get the absolute cheapest version. They use less soap and water even for bathing and washing. If a guest bathes at their house, they will check afterwards to see how much soap was used! When lighting a diya for God, they even light the matchstick in such a way so that another matchstick isn't wasted. If their hair gets long, they are even greedy about getting it cut, thinking, "It's only been twenty-two days; I'll get it cut after the month is complete." A greedy person won't spend even a thousand rupees if they have it in their hands. Even if they don't have the strength to walk, they won't take an auto-rickshaw that costs fifty or a hundred rupees. Moreover, if someday they have to pay money they lose their appetite for food that day. Even during their own wedding, their attention is fixated on how much money is spent! People around a miser also don't like them; on the contrary, they get irritated. Understanding what is greed through these examples gives us an insight into why greedy people cannot relax even for a moment.

The more the greed increases, the more that person burns inside. Not only that, but the tumour of greed bothers them so much that they even stop someone who is voluntarily giving a donation in a worthy place, telling them, "Why are you giving them money when they aren't even asking for it?" They do so, so they themselves don’t have to give anything. In this way, a greedy person defends their greed from all sides. A greedy person may have millions of rupees but they will get fever when giving away even a hundred rupees in donation. However, if one has money in their pocket but the circumstances aren't favourable, and they hesitate to give a donation in a temple, that is not greed. If the circumstances improve, that person will surely donate. But if one earns millions of rupees and has the inner intention to donate, yet cannot bring themselves to give away even one hundred rupees, that is the tuber of greed.

A greedy person's mind remains focused only on greed all day long. Anyone who can observe this behaviour can easily comprehend what is greed. This focus finally ends only when they end up in a cemetery. Some people are also such that their attention is only on money; they don't spend it on clothing or other items. But if they earn ten lakhs, they donate one and a half lakh towards religious works, thereby earning punya (merit), and because of that, more wealth keeps coming to them.

Humans in India are more developed so there is more greed. People in foreign countries can't hoard much money; as soon as it comes, they spend it. In India, however, their greed extends for seven generations, so they save up wealth and land so that their seven generations can live comfortably. This cultural perspective helps us answer what is greed from a social perspective. There is a popular story that a blind merchant asked for a boon from God: “I wish that my seventh generation's son's wife would churn buttermilk in a golden vessel on the seventh floor of a palace; and I should be able to sit here and see it!” Such is the nature of greed.

Ants have a lot of greed. Even at four in the morning you’ll see it running with a grain of sugar. It won’t eat the sugar itself; it’ll put it in the store. They collect rice, millet, sugar, the wings of insects etc.; stock for fifteen years. It is completely engrossed in gathering stuff. If anyone comes in its path, it will even sting them. Then, two big rats come along and clean out the entire stock in one minute. It is just like a greedy person who keeps gathering day and night, and then one major loss comes and everything is wiped out. Such stories provide another answer to what is greed - endless accumulation without satisfaction!

Generally, a greedy person is not angry, but if they do get angry, one should know that some obstruction has occurred in their greed. If they cheat someone out of money, and the other person is cursing them, the greedy person thinks, "We’ve already got the money, so let them shout!" In this way, kapat (deceit) protects greed. Where a profit is being made, they don't care about respect or honour. That is why people call a greedy person shameless.

A greedy person doesn't get involved in any activity! Even if they have to go for satsang (spiritual discourse), they run calculations inside their mind about whose car they can travel in so they can save paying five rupees to a rickshaw! Whether they are at a spiritual discourse or with family, they never forget about money; one who cannot be coloured by any other interest is called greedy!

The entire world has believed that happiness lies only in money. But, in reality, if money alone brought happiness, all wealthy people should be happy, which is not the case. Therefore, the belief that happiness lies in money is only a worldly conviction; that what one has gathered will be useful, and one won't have to go and borrow from anyone. Or, by seeing other wealthy people, a conviction forms that "If I hoard money, I will never suffer any hardship." That is why people save and save and accumulate money, which causes the knot of greed to grow larger. Essentially, because they themselves lack contentment, the general worldly view affects them. A person who is content is not affected by these worldly beliefs. Thus, knowing what is greed from all angles is the first step in finding happiness and peace.

Difference between thrift and greed

Thrift means that if one earns one lakh rupees, they manage to live within eighty thousand, and if they earn fifty thousand, they manage within forty thousand, but they do not spend money by incurring debt. Whereas a person greedy for money, whether they earn one lakh or two lakh, will still spend only forty thousand. People who have seen days of poverty develop a habit of miserliness, and they continue to be miserly even after they acquire money.

Buying good vegetables in a way that doesn't involve spending too much money is thrift, but getting rotten vegetables just to buy cheap is greed. Ordering milk to make tea, and then not throwing the remaining milk away but keeping it in the fridge or giving it to someone else to drink is called thrift. If we save any item through thrift so that it can be used for ourselves or for others when needed, that is not greed. There is no problem with accumulating or saving money. That will help us. But we should not become obsessed by constantly dwelling on how much savings we have all day long.

We should practice thrift (economy) with money, but we should not practice greed. Thrift is a good quality; it is a major support. Thrift is welcome in all matters at home, with the sole exception being the kitchen! Because that can spoil the mind. One should not practice thrift by compromising health. Knowing what is greed and how it differs from thrift helps us cultivate balance, generosity and peace in our life.