Wealth and greed

“The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys.

And Abram had become extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.

and he became richer and richer, until he was exceedingly wealthy.

He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

Both riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler over all. In Your hands are power and might to exalt and give strength to all.

Furthermore, God has given riches and wealth to every man, and He has enabled him to enjoy them, to accept his lot, and to rejoice in his labor. This is a gift from God.

Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.

The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

With regard to Korah’s wealth, the Gemara cites the verse: “Riches kept by his owner to his hurt” (Ecclesiastes 5:12). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: This is the wealth of Korah, which caused him to grow arrogant and lead to his destruction. As it is stated: “And what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben; how the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the sustenance that was at their feet” (Deuteronomy 11:6). Rabbi Elazar said: This is referring to a person’s money that stands him upon his own two feet. Rabbi Levi said: The keys to Korah’s treasuries were a load of three hundred strong white mules, and they were all keys [aklidei] and locks made of leather.

The language of the Sages teaches about wealth, as we learned in a mishna (Bava Batra 84b): One who sells produce to another, if the buyer pulled the produce as an act of acquisition but did not measure it, he has acquired the produce. If he measured the produce but did not pull it, he has not acquired it. And if the buyer was perspicacious and wanted to ensure that the seller would not back out of the deal, he would rent the place where the produce was located, and he would thereby acquire the produce immediately from the time he measures it. This mishna teaches good counsel in money-related matters.

And with regard to the phrase: “Over his sin,” which is written in connection to the one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, this is what the verse is saying: When one designates money for an offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, and before he brought the money to the Temple to purchase the offering he grew wealthier, he must add money to those coins and bring a bird. If he grew even wealthier, he must add money to them and bring a female lamb or a female goat. And what is the reason that the phrase: “Over his sin,” is written specifically with regard to the one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour? The reason is that if the verse had stated: Over his sin, with regard to a bird, I would say that it is only when one designates money for his nest and then becomes wealthier that one must add money and bring a female lamb or a female goat, as they are both types of blood offerings. But in a case where one designated money to purchase one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour and became wealthier, perhaps he may not add to the money that he designated earlier. And if he did not become much wealthier he now brings a bird, and if he became much wealthier he now brings a female lamb or a female goat, without using the money he had designated for the one-tenth of the ephah of flour. And that money which he initially designated for one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour is allocated for communal gift offerings. It is for this reason that the verse states: “From his sin,” with regard to that sin offering which one brings when rich and when poor, i.e., a lamb and a bird, and: “Over his sin,” with regard to that which he brings when he is exceedingly poor, i.e., one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, so that one should interpret the verses as we said, that in either case he adds to the money he had designated to bring the more expensive offering.

And ye devour heritages with devouring greed And love wealth with abounding love

Wealth and children are an ornament of the life of the world. But the good deeds which endure are better in thy Lord's sight for reward, and better in respect of hope

O ye who believe! Lo! many of the (Jewish) rabbis and the (Christian) monks devour the wealth of mankind wantonly and debar (men) from the way of Allah. They who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, unto them give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom

Narrated Anas bin Malik: Abu Talha was the richest man in Medina amongst the Ansar and Beeruha' (garden) was the most beloved of his property, and it was situated opposite the mosque (of the Prophet.). Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to enter it and drink from its sweet water. When the following Divine Verse was revealed: 'You will not attain righteousness till you spend in charity of the things you love' (3.92), Abu Talha got up in front of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Allah says in His Book, 'You will not attain righteousness unless you spend (in charity) that which you love,' and verily, the most beloved to me of my property is Beeruha (garden), so I give it in charity and hope for its reward from Allah. O Allah's Apostle! Spend it wherever you like." Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) appreciated that and said, "That is perishable wealth, that is perishable wealth. I have heard what you have said; I suggest you to distribute it among your relatives." Abu Talha said, "I will do so, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)." So, Abu Talha distributed it among his relatives and cousins. The sub-narrator (Malik) said: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "That is a profitable wealth," instead of "perishable wealth

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whoever is made wealthy by Allah and does not pay the Zakat of his wealth, then on the Day of Resurrection his wealth will be made like a baldheaded poisonous male snake with two black spots over the eyes. The snake will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and say, 'I am your wealth, I am your treasure.' " Then the Prophet (ﷺ) recited the holy verses:-- 'Let not those who withhold . . .' (to the end of the verse)

Narrated Hakim bin Hizam: I asked the Prophet (for some money) and he gave me, and then again I asked him and he gave me, and then again I asked him and he gave me and he then said, "This wealth is (like) green and sweet (fruit), and whoever takes it without greed, Allah will bless it for him, but whoever takes it with greed, Allah will not bless it for him, and he will be like the one who eats but is never satisfied. And the upper (giving) hand is better than the lower (taking) hand Narrated ʿAbdullah: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Who among you considers the wealth of his heirs dearer to him than his own wealth?" They replied, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! There is none among us but loves his own wealth more." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "So his wealth is whatever he spends (in Allah's Cause) during his life (on good deeds) while the wealth of his heirs is whatever he leaves after his death

O Prince! Purity prevails when passion and ignorance are overcome; passion, when purity and ignorance are overcome; and ignorance when it is overcome by purity and passion.

When purity is in the ascendant, the man evolves; when passion is in the ascendant, he neither evolves nor degenerates; when ignorance is in the ascendant, he is lost.

Lord Shri Krishna: It is desire, it is aversion, born of passion. Desire consumes and corrupts all things. It is the greatest enemy of man.

If thou thinkest of any other boon equal to this, ask for wealth and long life; be ruler over the wide earth. O Nachiketas, I shall make thee enjoyer of all desires. Whatsoever objects of desire are difficult to obtain in the realm of mortals, ask them all as thou desirest; these lovely maidens with their chariots and musical instruments, such as are not obtainable by mortals--be served by these whom I give to thee. O Nachiketas, do not ask regarding death. Nachiketas said: O Death, these are fleeting; they weaken the vigour of all the senses in man. Even the longest life is short. Keep thou thy chariots, dance and music. Man cannot be satisfied by wealth. Shall we possess wealth when we see thee (Death)? Shall we continue to live as long as thou rulest? Therefore that boon alone is to be chosen by me.

The Self is subtler than the subtle, greater than the great; It dwells in the heart of each living being. He who is free from desire and free from grief, with mind and senses tranquil, beholds the glory of the Atman.

I know that (earthly) treasure is transitory, for the eternal can never be attained by things which are non-eternal. Hence the Nachiketa fire (sacrifice) has been performed by me with perishable things and yet I have attained the eternal.

Riches ruin a simpleton, but not a seeker of the far shore. From craving for wealth, a simpleton ruins themselves and others. Weeds are the bane of crops, but greed is these folk’s bane. That’s why a gift to one rid of greed is so very fruitful.

Let us live so very happily, content among the greedy. Among greedy humans, let us live content.

Even if it were raining money, you’d not be sated in sensual pleasures. An astute person understands that sensual pleasures offer little gratification and much suffering.

When a noble disciple recollects the faith, ethics, learning, generosity, and wisdom of both themselves and the deities their mind is not full of greed, hate, and delusion. At that time their mind is quite unswerving. They’ve left behind greed; they’re free of it and have risen above it. ‘Greed’ is a term for the five kinds of sensual stimulation. Relying on this, some sentient beings are purified in this way.

“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks of riches. What five? Fire, water, kings, thieves, and unloved heirs all take a share. These are the five drawbacks of riches. There are these five benefits of riches. What five? Riches enable you to make yourself happy and pleased, to make your mother and father; your children, partners, bondservants, workers, and staff, and your friends and colleagues happy and pleased, and to keep them all happy. And they enable you to establish an uplifting religious donation for ascetics and brahmins that’s conducive to heaven, ripens in happiness, and leads to heaven. These are the five benefits of riches.”

A greedy person does bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. When greed has been given up, they don’t do bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. A greedy person doesn’t truly understand what’s for their own good, the good of another, or the good of both. When greed has been given up, they truly understand what’s for their own good, the good of another, or the good of both. This is how the teaching is apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.

All other greeds of the greedy are false. The Perfect Guru has given me the Name of the Lord, which my soul has come to treasure. ||1||Pause|| Surrounded by dear friends, relatives, children, siblings and spouse, he laughs playfully. But when the very last moment arrives, Death seizes him, while they merely look on. ||2||

This mind is a greedy king, engrossed in greed. The Gurmukh eliminates his greed, and comes to an understanding with the Lord. ||3|| Planting the seeds in the rocky soil, how can one reap a profit? The self-willed manmukh is not pleased with Truth; the false are buried in falsehood. ||4|| So renounce greed - you are blind! Greed only brings pain. When the True Lord dwells within the mind, the poisonous ego is conquered. ||5|| Renounce the evil way of duality, or you shall be plundered, O Siblings of Destiny. Day and night, praise the Naam, in the Sanctuary of the True Guru's protection. ||6||

Fareed, when there is greed, what love can there be? When there is greed, love is false. How long can one remain in a thatched hut which leaks when it rains? ||18||

It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself. When the work is done, and one’s name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.

Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder. Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones. He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.

When the people do not fear what they ought to fear, that which is their great dread will come on them. Let them not thoughtlessly indulge themselves in their ordinary life; let them not act as if weary of what that life depends on. It is by avoiding such indulgence that such weariness does not arise. Therefore the sage knows (these things) of himself, but does not parade (his knowledge); loves, but does not (appear to set a) value on, himself. And thus he puts the latter alternative away and makes choice of the former.