What is the difference between desire and greed?

Desire is actually a begging on our part and a desire to accumulate more and more is greed.
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, an enlightened being says,
“What’s the need to have a constant desire to earn and accumulate money? Do you have a desire to die? Death is inevitable and so is money that is going to come to you as your share. People will stop committing sins with just this one sentence of mine.

What happens when you keep having a desire for money? If I pull the money towards me, other people fall short in their allocated quota. This means that I am snatching away their quota and there will be nothing left for them. So accept whatever quota has been allocated to you naturally. The meaning of greed is to take away what belongs to others.”

It’s greed that tells us to grab the larger piece of pie. When an item is lacking in a person’s home and he borrows it from someone’s house, it is not called greed. But when he has everything he needs, has his own vehicle, has enough money in the bank, and yet he desires to take away someone else’s, then that is greed.

Greed is when we become perpetually engrossed in anything that becomes dear to usIn greed, one’s consciousness (chitt) is always hovering over the think that we like, constantly desirous of how it can be increased and always mindful that it does not diminish one bit!

There are 4 major weaknesses in a personality namely Krodh (Anger), Maan (Pride), Maya (Deceit) and Lobh (Greed). Greed is the first to manifest within and the last to leave us. It appears to give us maximum happiness, but in turn becomes the foundation of most of our unhappiness.

We do not have to forsake anything in life, we just need to forsake the desire for things!Greed is nothing but the endless desire to get more and more material things in life. A greedy person is greedy about almost everything, be it money or respect. A person can become blind with greed if an effort is not made to control his unlimited desire for possessions.

To be free of greed...Have the desire to give. By regularly doing so, the tuber of greed will begin to melt. “I want to donate money” should always be our intention within. This will loosen the tight knots of greed within. Remember, once these knots loosen, the tuber of greed will diminish and you will feel a lot of happiness.

Donate a percentage of what you earn. We should utilize our wealth in a righteous way so that the knot of our greed shatters. Of whatever income we earn every month, we ought to donate around 10% of it willingly to God and the needy! It becomes more fruitful when we have no desire of revealing the donation we made, to others. It may appear that our money is going away.

But Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “Donate one fifth of your income in this life towards the temple of the Lord. Spend one fifth to make other people happy... What you are enjoying in this life is the ‘overdraft’ you created from your past life. The merit karma of this life will carry forward to your next. Your current earnings will be of benefit to you in the time ahead.”

Stay in the company of a noble person. Greed makes an individual selfish and self- centred. It takes a person away from his religious and social duties. One can get rid of his greed and worldly temptations by staying with a noble person. When we observe a person’s nobility and appreciate it, we start becoming noble himself. That’s a natural law! Not thinking about one’s own self but always thinking about others is nobility.

Contentment is the opposite of greed. Contentment comes from an inner understanding carried over from the past life which results in him not running after money. One has enjoyed all of this in many previous lives, and therefore there is contentment in him, he does not want anything. On the other hand, the one who has not enjoyed these things in his past life is discontent. There remains within him a constant need and greed to enjoy this, that, and the other. Thus, greed of many varieties sets in.

Surrender to Gnani. Gnani Purush is One who grants moksha (salvation). Shrimad Rajchandra has said, seek Gnani and serve him physically, mentally and monetarily. One may wonder, “why monetarily?” It’s because Gnani untangles our bundle of greed.How?

•Gnani Purush may ask us to donate a certain amount to an appropriate place and we would do well to follow his instructions. On our own we wouldn’t have done so as it means parting with money. But our devotion towards Gnani makes us do so and that is what shatters the knot of greed. Once we start giving, we will slowly be able to give more and more money generously. The greed will go!

•The desire to come closer to Gnani surpasses the desire for money. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “When you give away that which is most dear to you in the world to me, then it is possible for you to come near me. You have already surrendered your mind, speech and body to me. Yet, one thing still remains: (wealth) Lakshmi! If you surrender this, you can come closer to me.” When it comes to money matters, our minds get bogged down in it. However, it rises in the presence of the Gnani Purush. People have great adoration for The Gnani Purush and they obey Him when He tells them to divert their money elsewhere. This is a natural phenomenon. And as soon as one’s craze towards money diminishes, he will be drawn towards spirituality.

•Gnani gives us Self-Realization. Greed is not the mistake of the Soul (our real Self). It is the mistake of ‘prakruti’ (the worldly self). Gnani, the Enlightened One, has the divine powers to separate our real Self and the worldly self, after which we attain Self-Realization (Gnan, the Knowledge of the Self).

•Gnani teaches us to observe the greed, which is the key to eliminate it completely. After Self-Realization, as we follow the Gnani’s teachings, we learn to observe greed as it arises in our day to day life. That very observation, in the awareness of the Self (‘I am a Pure Soul’), transforms what is. Not only greed but every desire other than that for salvation gradually begins to dissolve. Be it in friendship, in relationships, or even in case of people we’ve never met, you’ll want nothing from anyone then. Our life becomes peaceful, happier and satisfying when we have no desire for anything.

To know more please visit:https://www.dadabhagwan.org/self-realization/