DON’T
MULTIPLY YOUR WANTS
Be simple, be contented, be frugal and be conscious of the
fact that in this world your life is short and your indispensable wants are
limited. You just need a small cottage, a source of requisite income, two full
meals a day, sufficient rest and enough means for life’s miscellaneous
activities and occasional celebrations.
There is no wisdom in buying luxuries, falling a prey to consumerism, developing
addictions to unhealthy habits and feeling proud. Let your possessions be as
limited as possible. When you have to leave this world, you are empty-handed.
Nothing goes with you except your noble thoughts and deeds and a sense of gratitude
to God who gave you the opportunity to visit this world.
Happiness lies in simple living and high thinking as also in
keeping your soul unblemished. You die but your immortal soul survives forever
and reappears in various forms.
Greek philosopher Socrates (Died 15 Feb 399 BC) said: The
fewer our wants, the nearer we resemble the gods.
According to the Latin poet Marcus Manilius (1st
century A.D.) : Every one is poorer in proportion as he has more wants, and
counts not what he has, but wishes only for what he has not.
Finally, the following Ode on Solitude by the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744).
Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.
Whose herds with milk, whose fields
with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him
shade.
In winter fire.
Blest, who can unconcernedly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft
away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day.
Sound sleep by night: study and ease,
Together mixed; sweet recreation;
And innocence, which most does
please.
With meditation.
In
the fifth and last stanza of this ode, Pope says:
Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me die;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lie.
********
G.R.Kanwal
January 21, 2025
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