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४४ : मुनि श्रीहजारीमल स्मृति-ग्रन्थ
cause harm to themselves, their societies, their country, and the larger interests of human society by their wild and unrestrained behaviour, but rather advance, step by step, towards the ideal of monkhood, renouncing all craving for possession by the practice of a progressive selfdiscipline. If we carefully study the rules and vows which a householder is expected to observe, we shall easily see that a ceiling has been imposed upon the possession of wealth, property and objects of enjoyment, and that there is no possibility of an unceasing and excessive accumulation of wealth etc. at any single place; for, when earnings exceed the fixed ceiling, instead of amassing the surplus, one is obliged to spend it away; and such expenditure by householders, who have been observing religious vows and practising self-discipline, cannot but flow in the direction of social welfare. Besides, a ceiling, imposed upon accumulation, curbs the avaricious desire to earn money by unrighteous means. Thus, if desire is controlled, there is no further possibility of an enormous accumulation of wealth at a single place, creating serious inequalities and causing upheavals in society. If a similar rule, which is so beneficial to an individual, is applied to a collectivity or a nation, it may put an end to all kinds of world-wide misery, murder and destruction.
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