Dear Prabhujis and Matajis,
Hare Krishna! Please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada and Srila Gurudev.
The following is a story from the Mahabharata:
Once, there lived a greedy King called Srinjaya. He had only a daughter and no son. He felt about it badly.
So, he asked the Brahmins, and they told him that if he worshipped Narada Muni, he could get his desire fulfilled. So, one day, when Narada Muni came to Srinjaya's palace, Srinjaya worshipped him. He prayed to Narada Muni for a son. When Narada Muni asked the King what sort of a son he desired, the King replied, saying, that he wanted a beautiful, intelligent, healthy son, from whose mouth pearls should fall, as he cries or speaks.
Narada Muni blessed the King and went away. Soon, a son was born to the King, by the blessings of Narada Muni. Pearls started falling from the child's mouth, every time he spoke or cried. The Palace was filled with the pearls. Even the doors and walls of the Palace were inlaid with jewels. The story of this miracle child, spread like wild fire.
A gang of robbers in the forest, came to know about this child, and they decided to kidnap the baby. One night, they stealthily entered the palace and took away the child. When the King came to know of this he was extremely in distress. He sent the royal soldiers to search out for the child. When the gang of robbers heard the King's command, they decided to leave the child, as they were afraid of the soldiers. All the robbers agreed, but one of them disagreed. He suggested that the child be cut into pieces, for, every drop of the child's blood could also change into a pearl.
Accordingly, they cut the child to pieces. But, to their dismay, they couldn't get a single pearl from the child's blood.
By then, the royal soldiers surrounded the robbers. They bound the robbers and brought the robbers before the King. The King came to know of the tragic end of his child son. The King realized that his greed had ultimately ruined him.
In Srimad Bhagavatam, 11th canto, Lord Sri Krishna while instructing Sri Uddhava, told him the story of a Brahmana in the country of Avanti. The Avanthi brahmana speaks the following verse:
SB 11.23.18-19
steyaṁ hiṁsānṛtaṁ dambhaḥ kāmaḥ krodhaḥ smayo madaḥ
bhedo vairam aviśvāsaḥ saṁspardhā vyasanāni ca
ete pañcadaśānarthā hy artha-mūlā matā nṛṇām
tasmād anartham arthākhyaṁ śreyo-’rthī dūratas tyajet
Theft, violence, speaking lies, duplicity, lust, anger, perplexity, pride, quarreling, enmity, faithlessness, envy and the dangers caused by women, gambling and intoxication are the fifteen undesirable qualities that contaminate men because of greed for wealth. Although these qualities are undesirable, men falsely ascribe value to them. One desiring to achieve the real benefit of life should therefore remain aloof from undesirable material wealth.
We find in the above story also that the King's greed for material wealth has led to so many undesirable things like envy, theft, violence on the child, perplexity for the King, so on and so forth. Whereas on the other hand, as said in the above verse, if one desires to achieve the real benefit of life (śreyaḥ-arthī), he should have intense greed for it as quoted below in Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya lila 8.70:
Pure devotional service in Krishna consciousness cannot be had even by pious activity in hundreds and hundreds of lives. It can be attained only by paying one price - that is, intense greed to obtain it. If it is available somewhere, one must purchase it without delay.
I pray at the lotus feet of Srila Prabhupada and Gurudev to give me the intense greed for Krishna consciousness.
Your humble servant,
Karthik.S.
Abu Dhabi.
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