The unquenchable thirst for more and its devastating impact on society

Contentment is the biggest wealth. Whosoever is contented with what he or she has is the richest person on this planet. In my childhood, at an Islamic seminary, our teacher taught us that a person’s greed can’t be satisfied. If he gets one mountain of gold, he craves another, and so on. In this way, he finds himself on his deathbed, and then the earth is the only thing that fills his belly. Whatever the source of this statement is and whatever the exact words are, the fact of the matter is that man’s greed has no end. Craving for more and more ruins his life. Everybody is greedy in one way or another. Some are blind to materialism, while some run behind false praise. Some want to rule over others, while many want to look pious in the eyes of others. In this way, no one is free from the evil of greed. Greed has been here since time immemorial. After the creation of this universe, the evil of greed was sown, and now it has become so strong and toxic that no amount of hard work can shake its foundation.
If we look closely at the causes responsible for this, some causes are visible from a distance. Let us discuss some of them briefly. The first is materialism. Craving for material things, without caring the least for moral and religious principles, has made us very greedy. We believe that the person who is sound in material things must be spiritually blessed. On the surface, though materialism looks like a scintillating object, deeper down its tentacles are ugly and bitter. It is toxic. Its nature is crude, and it has the potential to trample upon the cherished principles of humanity that are very close to a rational human being.
The second is narrow-mindedness. A narrow-minded person finds solace in piling more and more. His greed for material things does not stop at all. In the hope of finding comfort and setting himself apart from others, he blindly chases material pursuits that lead to his downfall. The third is imitation. We blindly imitate those people who are well off in one way or another. As said earlier, a man must strive to content himself with little things as much as possible. Everyone’s life is unique. One man’s poison is another’s elixir of life. So, one must contemplate before running behind anyone blindly. It is possible that the person whom we are chasing has amassed wealth by hook or crook. Though living a life of penury is a curse in itself, a life full of moral principles is strongly anchored to strong foundations.
Greed has devastated our lives. Crimes, moral bankruptcy, wars, pollution, diseases, et cetera are the evil fruits of greed. A man’s heart is beating restlessly due to the unquenchable greed for one thing after another. Comfort is the last word that is found in today’s man’s dictionary. Every moment of his life is wasted in the evaluation of ways that can quench his thirst for heightened greed. However, the fact of the matter is that it is like saline water; the more you drink, the thirstier you feel. Ethnic cleansing and civil wars are also repercussions of this nasty evil. The erosion of trust in our lives is due to its toxic nature. Family ties are snapped due to the omnipresence of greed.
In order to live a contented life, we must not chase greed blindly. As mentioned above, it leads towards a dark well from which escape is quite impossible. Being rational human beings, we must not crave more and more. Now it is up to us to bring the requisite changes in our lives. This life is more than longing for greed only. This beautiful life must be taken care of. On the deathbed, when the last breath leaves our nostrils, we must be proud of ourselves. So, the need of the hour is to live contented lives as much as we can.

The writer can be reached at [email protected]

Syed Mustafa Ahmad