to see. The ways in which our greed is destructive in our lives is more
difficult. When we are greedy, we are never satisfied, and we are never
content. We are always afraid that there will not be enough, and we
become miserly. Instead of seeing our riches and giving generously to
others, we become nothing more than rich beggars, always asking for
more. In yoga we consciously minimize our needs. We do this not to
show how holy we are because we can live on a few grains of rice. We
minimize our needs so that we can minimize our attachments and to
maximize our contentment. In so doing we are able to lessen our greed
iness. For one man a meal is slight; for another it is a feast. Life is the
same way. The fewer our demands on life, the greater is our ability to
see its bounty.
I was once asked to teach yoga to a very wise man while I was in
Europe. He was revered around the world for his wisdom and his ho
liness. However, this man had a weakness for cars. Despite the fact that
he was living off of the generosity of others, he was willing to accept a
gift from one of his devotees of a Rolls Royce race car that was a two
seater. Someone had driven me in this car once, and I knew it was a
nice one, but it was a very expensive one too. His devotee told me that
he had sold his horne in order to buy this car. Because I do not hide my
feelings, I told this man that I thought he was wrong to accept it. I told
him that I was happy with my cotton shirts, but he needed his silk
ones. This does not make me holier than him. It just makes my needs
less and my ability to be content greater. I watched this revered teacher
each day polishing his car himself for two hours because he did not
want anyone else to touch it. This man's love of cars and need for this
car was a trap that made him greedy.
Greed, however, is not just for possessions. We can be greedy for
affection or attention just as easily. Some time after the man received
this two-seater, one of his other devotees bought him a new Mercedes
race car that was a four-seater. This student wanted desperately to be
closer to his teacher and thought that if there were more seats in his car
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