Isha Upanishad (2)

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The fight over God's property causes living

beings great distress. If people could only recognize

the truth of this first mantra- that everything and

everyone belongs to God, and that as His children all

living beings have a right to the necessities of their

existence -then the world would be at peace. There is

enough in the world to fulfill everyone's needs, but not

enough to fulfill everyone's greed. In some parts of the

world people are dying from severe undernourishment,

while in other parts of the world people are dying from

obesity. By nature's arrangement, a person can eat only a

certain amount; this amount depends upon the size of his

stomach, his ability to digest the food, and so on. An

elephant's quota is fixed at a hundred pounds or so of hay a

day; a bird's quota is fixed at a few seeds, or a

little bit of fruit. A human being's quota also is

fixed. A man's stomach is limited in size; thus, how

much he can digest is limited. To eat more than can be

digested is sinful. <br><br>Some people in the West try to

get around this natural limit by artificial means.

Their desire for sense gratification is so great that

it drives them to all kinds of crazy actions. In

order to eat as much as they desire (rather than as

much as they need), they have resorted to such things

as shortening the length of their intestines so that

fewer nutrients are absorbed from the food that they

eat, and to taking pills that keep food from being

digested. One of today's more popular methods was quite

popular in ancient Rome as well-vomiting. A person eats

to his fullest, induces vomiting, and then fills his

belly again. Some people spend all day like this,

eating and vomiting. Another way in which people take

more than their quota is by accumulating vast amounts

of money and property-far more than anyone could

possibly use in a single lifetime. Nelson Rockefeller, for

instance, was so wealthy that he had dozens of huge houses,

and in each of his houses he had huge golden beds.

But he had only one body, and so he could sleep only

in one bed at a time, under the roof of one house at

a time. Greedy, wealthy people also have huge bank

accounts that contain far more money than they could ever

really need. This is another manifestation of greed.

Such hoarding runs directly counter to the teachings

of the Sri Ishopanishad. <br><br>Why does a person

claim ownership of a thing or of another person? To

control it or them. And why does he want to control it?

Usually because he wants to be the enjoyer of it. For

example, a child claims ownership of a piece of candy so

he can control it. Why does he want to control it?

So he can enjoy the taste of it. He can't enjoy the

taste unless he has control over it-unless he can pick

it up and put it in his mouth. To "buy" a piece of

candy from a store is to transfer the ownership from

the store to the customer. After a customer has paid

for the candy, he is given control over it. He isn't

allowed to control it until he owns it; only then can he

do with it as he pleases. If you walked into a store

and started eating food off the shelves without

paying for it, you might be prosecuted. You would be

told you couldn't do what you wanted with the food

until you became the owner of it. The owner of

something is considered its rightful enjoyer.