How to strike a balance between sacrifice and enjoyment?

The virtues like charity and sacrifice get awakened in the heart of a human being only when he considers his insignificant physical life and serves and honours others with enthusiasm. It is a harsh truth that we will live in this world in the physical form for a limited period. After our death, our close relatives, friends, relatives and friends will not even be sad or loving towards us for the rest of their lives. To overcome this weak feeling of sorrow, a thought arises in our inner mind that why don’t we become immortal forever by spreading the light of our good deeds and virtues.

We can certainly do this by adopting a servant-attitude. On the strength of our selfless personality and altruistic deeds, we can become an inspiration for human life forever. This idea of providing salvation to the unique human life is not new. Such ideas have always arisen in the inner minds of noble men and by adopting them they have also become immortal in the world. Even if they are not permanently present on this earth, such altruists will continue to be revered for eternity. This is the best education of invaluable human life. By learning this, man’s life can become joyful and prosperous.

If human life progresses in this way, the entire world will attain heavenly expanse.  The ultimate knowledge of spirituality that any human being will get will also teach that the purpose of religion and work is to spread the light of good deeds and virtues. Material things are absolutely necessary for the smooth running of human life. It is not possible to imagine human life without the enjoyment of these things. It is very important to understand with what feeling we are using material things. In our spiritual heritage, Vedas, too, establishing a wonderful coordination of enjoyment and sacrifice for the proper running of human life, it has been said that use all the things of the world with the spirit of sacrifice, that is, the formula of enjoying while sacrificing. Sacrifice and enjoyment together. A renouncer is a yogi and a pleasure-seeker is a worldly person. In reality, both enjoyment and yoga are within us. There is a need to balance both. We sacrifice and enjoy, but how much do we sacrifice and how much do we enjoy, this is the big question. While consuming every thing, our feeling should be of sacrifice. We should use only as much material things as is needed to run our life properly.  Enjoy. This is the moral formula for happiness.

While living in this world, collect all the material things, but use them by imbibing the spirit of sacrifice keeping in mind the welfare of others. Our Rishi tradition has also been following this principle that enjoyment should be only as much as is necessary for life. Getting attached to mere enjoyment is a demonic tendency. As long as enjoyment remains within the limits of sacrifice, it is beneficial for man. When the feeling of sacrifice ends, at that time man’s greed takes a huge form, which has no end. This feeling of enjoyment becomes an obstacle in the welfare of the entire world and the happiness of man himself. The tendency to enjoy excessively leads man’s life towards degradation. On the contrary, the feeling of sacrifice helps one attain mental happiness and peace.

A man who enjoys with sacrifice is always satisfied with his life. Being irrational and becoming a mere pleasure-seeker is a demonic tendency. Enjoying with sacrifice is a divine tendency. It is mentioned in Ishopanishad of Yajurveda that God is present in every particle of this world, God is the master of all living and non-living things. Therefore, enjoy all the material things of the world with a sense of sacrifice. Do not be greedy for someone else’s wealth. In the spiritual book Veda also, the message of enjoying all the things with sacrifice has been given to improve human life. God has the right over every object and material of this world. God is the master of all the material wealth, hence only the person who enjoys his wealth with a sense of sacrifice remains happy. One should never allow the tendency of enjoyment to prevail in the heart. Enjoyment binds a person in bondage and sacrifice paves the way to salvation. Excessive involvement in enjoyment makes a person’s thinking selfish and petty.


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