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"The fullness of the life of the house holder is achieved when he feeds those, who come hungry to him. Indeed he, that shares his food with the hungry, will never go hungry at any time. Those who fast in penance endure hunger; to do away with hunger in others is better than fasting in penance."
Therefore, both the king and the masses showed no veneration to this greedy rich man. Still he was a God-fearing man and had high faith in prayer and worship. Turning the beads and chanting verses from the 'Ramayan', he would walk in heavy rainfall or pitch darkness even to a distant place to listen to the holy sermons of sages and priests. But the temple priest who delivered the holy sermons never extended him any welcome, and would not give him a seat of honor close by him. He used to get a back seat in a corner on the temple mat; because all knew that he would not offer even a single penny to the learned priest as gift.
But God knows how one-day good sense prevailed on him. When all the blemishes of his soul were washed away by the shower of religious hymns. What good effect of the pious deeds of his previous births prompted him? At the end of the sermon when all the devotees had made their offerings to the holy priest, the rich miser took out a bundle wrapped in a piece of dirty cloth from under his armpit and offered several dazzling silver coins to the priest as gift. The whole gathering and the priest himself were taken aback by his action. Voices poured from all directions that no one knows when the almighty may bring a change in outlook and a staunch miser may become extremely generous. When the miser began to return to his former seat devoid of all sense of vanity and with bowed head, the priest holding him by the hand gave him an honorable seat on the costly carpet. No sooner did the rich man take his seat, than he spoke, "O Holy Priest! Money enjoys a great value and wins prestige in the world. Till yesterday I was a neglected person and you gave me a lower seat at a distance; but why all this honor and welcome today?" On hearing these words of praise for riches, the priest spoke, "O Seth! You are mistaken. Even yesterday you were rich, but did not enjoy social prestige. This reverence is for renunciation, not for riches." "Dhanam tygain shobhatay". Riches win glory by renouncing them. None can win fame and prestige by accumulating money like a honeybee, which collects honey in the beehive. Only when we utilize money like a bee, which collects honey in the beehive. Only when we utilize money for personal uplift or social well being by donating it to social and religious institutions like schools, hospitals, Dharamshalas and temples, that it wins us name, fame and glory. Riches, which are not utilized for noble cause, are worthless like dust. A rich man always lives in tension. Fear of thieves, robbers and income tax raids, haunts his mind forever. Riches come to a man by good luck and sincere, earnest labor and if used judiciously for a right cause, they bring him mental peace and happiness. Squandering money on trifles e.g., sensuous pleasures or vices like gambling, drinking and prostitution is the misappropriation of riches and it is a heinous crime as well as a sin.
The supreme virtue of renunciation is a part and parcel of religion. The two are indivisible. We cannot separate renunciation from religion and soul. One should renounce worldly possessions devotedly within one's power, "shaktistyaga". Trees renounce fruits
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