Religion is worthless if its end is material gain

Religion is worthless if its end is material gain

1989 6 June 14 Religion is worthless if its end is material gain (47) Abu Hurayrah records the Prophet as saying: “A person who, for the sake of worldly aggrandizement, seeks that knowledge which should be sought with the sole aim of seeking God’s good pleasure, will not savour the fragrance of Paradise on the day of Judgement.”

(Abu Da’ud, Sunan)

True Contentment

1989 6 June 14 True Contentment (265) The millionaire was tired, weary and bored, He called for his Lincoln continental limousine, got in, and said to the chauffeur: “James, drive full speed over the cliff. I’ve decided to commit suicide (Times of India, February 26, 1985).”

This news item was entitled “Bored to Death.” Usually, we associate the wish to commit suicide with dire poverty or some kind of financial failure, but seldom do we realize that millionaires too can be miserable. If poverty creates terrible problems for people, so also does affluence. There are just as many rich people as there are poor who cannot sleep peacefully throughout the night.

The secret of a peaceful life in this world is what is known in religious terminology as contentment. This means being satisfied with what one has and remaining thankful to God for His mercies. Those who go through life feeling that they have been unfairly treated by society and neglected by God are bound to pay the psychological price of ever-deepening discontent. They expect external factors to remove their feelings of dissatisfaction, little realizing that a feeling of contentment can only come from within.

The greatest mistake is to think that the one and only purpose in life is to make money. But if wealth were all, a wealthy man should never find himself beset by problems of emotional stress. The truth is that the greatest acquisition is not money, but the knowledge of life. When a man has this within his grasp, he will know how to live in peace in all circumstances, whether he is millionaire or a beggar.