Where Wealth Accumulates Man Decays

1043 Words5 Pages
India’s saints and sages, in common with philosophers, regarded wealth as the source of countless evils. While it is true that abysmal poverty also is the cause of many malpractices and crimes, including thefts, robberies, dacoities and assaults of various descriptions, vast accumulation of wealth is no less a cause of deterioration of the human character. The number of people, especially young men, who have become moral lepers and who have developed wasteful and ruinous habits, is indeed legion. Money and other resources are admittedly necessary for a comfortable life, for good education, the encouragement of art and development of a sound culture. But, as in other areas, excess and accumulation of wealth lead to mental, moral and cultural decay often beyond redemption. Human character can create wealth, but wealth cannot create character; rather, it gradually ruins it and creates conditions in which the basic virtues of existence decay or are destroyed. Human sympathy, compassion for the poor, the weak and the down trodden, the elementary qualities of respect and reverence for elders, consideration for others and at times even the dictates of courtesy, are forgotten when the obsession with wealth becomes a predominant trait of one’s character. Countless instances are known of wealthy people becoming proud, arrogant, cruel and heartless. Mahatma Gandhi taught that wealth should be regarded as a public trust, to be utilised for the public good and the welfare of one's fellowmen. But how many people follow the Mahatma’s teachings? Again, the accumulation of wealth is itself an indication of injustice, inequality and unfair distribution of a nation’s resources. Where there is economic justice and everyone has fair opportunities to earn enough for his and his family’s requirements, accumulation of wealth will be rare, because it will be evenly distributed.
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