Excess of Anything is Destructive
Once, there was a fox in a jungle. He had not eaten anything for many days and hence was very hungry. Since he had not had anything to eat for so long, he was too lean and thin. One day, he reached an orchard while wandering here and there. The orchard was fenced all around. Different types of fruit were ripening in the orchard. The branches were bending due to a load of ripe fruits. The fox was tempted by the fruits. He was moving around to find a way inside. The entrance gate was closed from the inside.
The fox was moving around the wall. Finally, he found a small hole in a broken part of the wall. Initially, he did not think that he would fit through the hole. But, his belly was quite thin because of the hunger. He began to try and squeeze through the hole thinking he wouldn't fit. He struggled very hard and eventually entered the orchard. He was very happy to find all the ripe fruits in the orchard. It was night time, so there was complete stillness. The fox moved around the orchard and ate sweet fruits of his choice. He became full and sat under a tree. There was a forest near to the orchard. The fox woke up at midnight because of the sound of wild animals. He was not hungry. He thought "I don't get the chance to come here and enjoy these fruits all the time, so I had better eat some more".
He started eating again at midnight. As he was tired, he went under a tree and slept. He woke up at dusk. He decided to run away before anybody came to the orchard. "There is nothing to eat outside, so it is a good idea to eat more fruits", he thought and started eating even more fruits before he left.
He forcefully fed himself although he was full. His belly was swollen from overeating. He could not even walk properly. It was already a bright morning. The farmer entered the orchard with a big stick. He closed the door from the inside. The fox was horrified at the sight of the man. He ran towards the hole from which he had entered the orchard the previous day. He tried to squeeze through the hole but could not because of his big belly. The fox tried his best but could not get out. As a result, he was found and was beaten up by the farmer.
People have unlimited wants and desires even though all those wants and desires can't be fulfilled. One who desires as per their capacity and fulfills the fundamental needs can be happy. They never say that their desires are not fulfilled. Human desires are like fire, they keep on growing and glowing. Fire creates and destroys things. A man can be destroyed if he desires things that can't be fulfilled by any means. A man is led towards creative works, if his desires can be fulfilled by his capacity or hard work. As the desires never end and cannot be fulfilled, they are called 'a power that always remains young or never turns old' in the Nitisastra.
There is no living being that does not have any need. Moreover, there is no limit to human desires. There are different levels of need. At the first level ,there are some needs that can be fulfilled and should be fulfilled, whereas at the second level, there are some needs that can't be fulfilled and do not need to be fulfilled. An individual should be happy if they fulfill the first level of need and should not be sad if they are unable to fulfill the second level. We must classify the level of our needs. Our mind and desires keep on moving here and there. As our mind keeps on flying or moving at a high speed like a rath (chariot) we can use the term Manorath (chariot of our mind). We can control our desires by controlling that manorath so that our mind can concentrate only on those needs that can be and need to be fulfilled. This is the only way to get pleasure, happiness and satisfaction.
Uncontrolled desires and the greed for unattainable desires make people over ambitious. Those people have a very shallow and weak ambition, as weak as a house without foundation. If people get their desires out of control, ambition will emerge in them. Even for a minor success, they need to put in great effort. If we are over ambitious or have an ambition that can never be achieved, then it may create a negative result. These results harm all of us. Proper and positive thoughts prevent people from being over ambitious.
People can be free from tension. If there is no tension, we will become healthy and if we are healthy we will be happy and satisfied. Satisfaction is considered the greatest happiness. We have seen people digging well and erecting tall buildings. One who digs well goes downwards and one who erects tall buildings goes upwards. From this simple example we can learn that our progress or downfall is determined from our deeds. Hence, there is nothing but our bad qualities that can take us down. Vanity is one of these bad qualities. Some people say 'me' and 'mine' is the quest of existence but saying only 'me' and 'mine' is a demonstration of vanity. Vanity leads people towards a perilous path. We can see in history, even great people have fallen down due to their vanity. Arrogance is the first step of downfall. Arrogance is born when we lack knowledge, skills, sympathy, etc. It is hard to achieve success if you are arrogant.
Jealousy is like a poison of the human heart, it is dangerous. Those who cannot bear others' progress and remain unhappy at others' success become jealous. Jealousy hinders the path of development. This is the outcome of negative thinking and seeing. Those who are jealous of others' success destroy themselves. Those who take inspiration from others' success become successful. Anger is another enemy of human beings. This is also like a poison. Like desires, there are impulses that are generated in our mind. 86 Moral Education, Class -8 They remain active all the time. They try to come out in different forms. If they are not channeled, they will harm us. Anger is one such impulse. If we cool down our anger we can prevent the harm it causes. One who can overcome anger, jealousy and arrogance, can become a successful and perfect person. One who has unnecessary jealousy will suffer in life. In any area, if the limitation is crossed it will result in trouble. If we act as per our capacity, such negative impulses can't be activated. Only after this, we can be a real human. We have to try to become a perfect humans.
Summary
All human needs can't be fulfilled easily. One should try to set limited desires that are possible to achieve. Unlimited desires and wants give birth to over ambition. This is the root cause of suffering. There are different mental impulses that are generated in us. If these impulses are active, they will give us trouble. If we act according to our capacity and limitations, we can control them to a great extent. We can get happiness from this. This is why, it is said "Lova Papasya Karanam'' or greediness is the cause of sinful acts
