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Greed Unveiled: B.K. Viral's Perspective
> Guest contributors > Understanding and overcoming greed

Understanding and overcoming greed

Greed results in feelings of stress, anger, anxiety, jealousy, etc., as one is caught in the pursuit of more and more money, affecting the emotional and physical health and not allowing him to give his best to works and relationships.

Earning money is not wrong. One requires food, clothes, house and education; so one need to earn wealth to fulfill these needs and to meet contingencies like health, inflation, retirement, etc.

Hence, earning money is not wrong; it is, in fact, very necessary. But, when it takes the form of selfish desire to earn excess wealth than necessity, it’s greed. People desire for more food, more clothes, new smartphone, the upgraded car, the bigger house, the 80-inch flat screen TV, the yacht and the list goes on and on. This desire for more and more in an excessive way is called greed.

Greed is harmful because of the following reasons:

Greed results in feelings of stress, anger, anxiety, jealousy, etc., as one is caught in the pursuit of more and more money, affecting the emotional and physical health and not allowing him to give his best to works and relationships.

It can lead to committing unlawful or illegal acts like cheating, bribery, gambling, etc.

Also, focusing too much on wealth may lead us to ignore other equally important aspects of life such as relationship, health and mind:

Relationships: A greedy person will give first preference to his need for wealth, happiness, and gratification ignoring the needs of others. This selfishness in life will affect all his relationships adversely and he will have less time for family and friends.

Health: He may compromise physical health, i.e., skip meals, miss exercise, sleep less, eat fast food instead of fresh food, etc., and, in general, overwork the heart and body.

Mind: He may not give time for recharging or empowering his mind, and be far off from the experience of original virtues of peace, love and happiness.

Overcoming Greed

Wealth and material objects do not give happiness. If money and acquisitions of material objects would have given happiness, then: The richest people would have been the happiest. Even our happiness would have increased in direct proportion to increasing wealth.

Physical wealth can only give us physical comfort while it’s the subtle wealth of right thinking, blessings from others, etc., which give us subtle happiness. Surely, new stuffs provide instant gratification, but they cannot provide life-long happiness. Having the latest version of the iPhone or an iPad might be nice, but one can rest assured that a newer and better one will follow, so the desire for more and better continues unabated. There is always going to be a better version of everything you own, so one needs to be happy with what one has. Some experience fleeting thrill while buying new stuffs or while acquiring status or position, expecting that it’ll carry forward into the future, perhaps turning into some kind of contentment. But, what all these do is: causing feelings of distress, discontent and depression after some time.

Techniques to get rid of greed

To get rid of this vicious circle of greed, follow some easy techniques mentioned below:

Taking in pure and positive information

The biggest realization that helps in overcoming greed is the fact that ‘Objects don’t give me happiness; happiness is my internal creation’. Happiness depends on the thoughts that we create in each and every situation. As is the information put in, so are the thoughts.

Listening to spiritual knowledge for at least 15-20 minutes daily, automatically creates pure elevated thoughts, leading to elevated feeling of happiness and contentment.

Practice meditation

Practice of meditation is, in itself, the process of creating elevated thoughts. It helps one to observe one’s thoughts as if one were a detached observer. As one becomes aware of the thoughts, one can change the direction of thoughts to personal affirmations. These thoughts are: ‘I am a peaceful and content soul. I am aware of myself as a special person with my own unique specialties. I am aware of myself being rich, full of many invisible treasures. I am aware of myself as a content being, overflowing with happiness.’ This technique transforms our attitudes and feelings and influences us positively.

Hence, practice of meditation is a very rich and powerful technique of remaining full and content always. Practice of meditation is not difficult at all since there are numerous simple ways to meditate, keep elevated thoughts of self-esteem, God’s companionship and other elevated memories at the back of the mind while working.

Remain in the awareness of “I, the soul, am using this body.” While meditating, experience different relations with God, different titles of God, experience to receive different virtues and powers from him, which gives varied and fulfilling experiences.

Sharing with all

Indeed, once we are full of true self-esteem, we automatically begin to share it with others rather than asking others for it. And the more we share it with others, the more it increases and we remain far from greed.

Free yourself from addiction of others’ approval

We, the individuals, are unique and so is our journey of life. Getting approval for who we are and what we do certainly feels nice, it tells us we are doing something right. But, being a people-pleaser and constantly seeking validation makes us live in bondage, on other people’s terms. We, ultimately, waste our potential and feel emotionally drained. Start living as per your desires and your potential. Life is so much easier when you are not worried about what others think about you. Remind yourself this – I am a wise being. I am not dependent on people’s validation or approval for my choices. It’s my life. I am free to choose what is right for me, not what people approve of.

Do you compromise on your choices, decisions, qualities or habits when someone you admire, does not like them? Is getting people’s approval a higher priority than doing what feels right for you? Not easy to recognize or admit, but some of our behaviours may reflect an addiction of others’ approval. The biggest traps most of us fall into, is trying to please people close to us. Who we are, what we do or what we have, should always be our decision. We need not tweak our personality to gain someone else’s approval. Let’s focus on living our values and do what feels right. We have all the answers within us. We only need to activate our intuition and follow our conscience. When we approve of our being and doing, we stop asking people to certify our worth. Otherwise, our self-esteem crashes. And, then, neither we nor others will respect us. You don’t need to copy anyone. Be yourself all the time. You don’t need people to approve of you, feel grateful for whoever shows you love or appreciation, but don’t seek approval. Care selflessly, help without conditions. You need nothing from anyone. Inculcate the art of remaining stable in appreciation and in criticism. Teach your mind not to seek external validation, to only remain focused on your purpose, goals and plans that make your life meaningful.

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