Less Possessions, More Happiness

Jan 14, 2005, 12.00am IST
ANIL K RAJVANSHI.

A well-to-do disciple was very fond of his frugal guru who used to live in a remote village, meditating under a tree most of the time. The guru was a free bird; he had neither family nor home. He sustained himself by begging for alms. There were days when he even went without food, but that did not seem to bother him. He was focused on his meditation and ascetic lifestyle.


The fact that such a learned and good man had no regular livelihood — and so did not know where his next meal was coming from — bothered the disciple. After some thought he decided that he would give his guru a cow so that he would not have to depend on the charity of others for food. He would have to beg no more.

The guru, however, refused the gift saying that he was very happy with his existence. Also, since he had taken to a frugal way of life in order to direct his energies to spiritual pursuits, he would rather not get into the trap of acquiring worldly possessions. Nevertheless, after great persuasion and cajoling, he reluctantly accepted the cow. The disciple was delighted and felt that he had done a great service to his guru.


Many years passed before the disciple returned to the village to seek advice from his guru. Not finding him under the tree he inquired about his whereabouts from the villagers. They pointed at a hamlet in the distance. He went there. Seeing the disciple, the guru rushed out from one of the huts and wailed: "Look how you have ruined my life... First the cow, then the cowgirl and the rest followed! I cannot meditate and most of my time goes in running this outfit".

Possessions burden your mind and are a distraction to deep thought. Thinking of ways on how to acquire more, the pursuit of possessions becomes an end in itself. Similarly, there is a tendency in people to amass wealth for the sake of hoarding it. It is of no use to anyone. This becomes a way of life.

Possessions and wealth are necessary for a comfortable life. However, they should serve our need, not greed. Whether it is clothing, shoes or homes, possessing more than what is required is nothing but wasteful hoarding. Amassing of wealth and possessions comes from internal insecurity of an individual. This leads to a spiral: to get more money for acquiring more goods and services, often leading to a corrupt and unsustainable lifestyle.

This insecurity can be reduced by first trying to understand ourselves. Most people are afraid of looking deep within. But a deeper understanding will give us a perspective in life and is the genesis of spirituality, it will help in the understanding of the spirit inside us.


Spirituality can also help in keeping our greed for materials and resources in check. As a person progresses on the path of spirituality his or her priorities in life change. The focus of life shifts more towards getting personal happiness through mental peace and is less on material needs and desires and hence towards sustainability. Spirituality also helps make a person internally secure and humble.

Since the desire to increase possessions and amass wealth comes from the greed impulse it should be reduced or kept in check. Removal of greed can be achieved by cultivating a spiritual outlook with the help of yoga and sanyam . The brain has tremendous processing power and hence even a small amount of data is processed efficiently to gain useful information. This helps the mind to "get satisfied" easily so that the person can move on. Reduction and ultimately the complete removal of greed is the key to happiness and sustainability.