Desire for everything/Desist from aspiring anything....?!

There is one school of thought - Desire for everything. Only when we want everything in life, we will be motivated to work towards getting our wants. This desire will help us work hard (smarter, may be!) and reach the coveted heights. We would then get the comforts of life that we desired for. After all, money is so very important in life and nothing can replace it. Only a rich man is always right (irrespective of whether he is wrong or right), in the eyes of the world. He is given all respects by everyone around. He gets access to any place in the world. Money buys a lot of things, except a few things. That is okay....

Some people have the thinking that they will live within their means. He will be always in penury. What is the use? He will lead a poor life, throughout his life. He cannot provide even the 'needs' (leave alone the comforts) of his dependents. He would be despised by his own people for his inability to satisfy their desires. Bill Gates says, 'there is nothing wrong in being born poor, but it is not correct to die poor'. If you plan and work smart, you will become rich. That is what he means.

There is another school of thought - Desist from aspiring anything. Desire is the root-cause of all worries! Do you want to live peacefully? Never ever desire for anything; be a contented man. No expectation; no disappointment! This makes life simpler. Do whatever work that is possible for you; earn the limited salary; spend on essential needs. Live within your income.

No desires, no need for great efforts and the resultant heart-breaks, in case of failures. This sort of thinking is advocated by a section of people. Heard in a discourse recently : A man and his wife were on the road. Both were affected by leprosy. The man was sitting on a push-cart and the wife was pushing him around. They kept talking excitedly and laughing, as if there was absolutely no worry in their life. The cause of their happiness is not 'money' (which they don't have).

So, what is right? Both are contradictory in nature. If we look at both carefully, it will be clear to us. Money gives us worldly comforts; but can money give us happiness? At the same time we cannot just brush aside the need for money. That is also needed. But too much money will bring in its own problems. There is a song in a Tamil movie and when translated means : If you have enough money, you are the boss and if you have too much money, then the money will become your boss.

We should strive to earn enough money through honest ways and live the life comfortably (to the possible extent). In the process, if you earn too much money, spend some money on needy people and keep away some money for your old age. After all, being happy is much more important than living a comfortable, but miserable life.