What is needed to live?

 I’ll start this section with a provoking thought experiment. Let’s say there is a rich man, one with lots of money and resources. He starts off with plenty of such belongings:  a spacious mansion, plenty of gold jewelry, a spacious garden, uncountable rows of guest rooms, innumerable employees, and an array of high-end cars. 

One day the man sits down to think, and suddenly remembers that he hasn’t visited his movie room in, oh, what must be over half a year by now. He fears that something terrible has happened, and walks across the corridor, down the array of expensive rooms, and stops at the door of his movie room. He takes a deep breath, heart pounding, opens the door, and turns on the lights. Nothing. All is in order. Somewhat relieved, he turns back, and heads back to his bedroom.

That man is made miserable by his own possessions. He certainly does not need all that he owns, and he knows it. The memory of, and the responsibility to tend to, all the things in his life that he brought forth as a means to improve his quality of life, are actually making him more miserable, and burdening him with the responsibility of having to tend to them, and make good use of them.

Now, what does it matter whether one lives simply or extravagantly? Is there a meaningful difference between the lives accompanying these lifestyles. The former is marked by a life in which all basic necessities are fulfilled, one can live reasonably and simply, and most importantly, one makes full use of their assets. The Sikhs are famous for possession and effective usage of 5 limited resources: kara (bracelet), kanga (comb), kesh, kachera, kirpan.

If one can count the things they use on a day to day basis, and cut the nonessential resources that they use, they can increase the order in their lives, focus their attention on the maintenance of the items they do have, and reduce the potential for disorder to arise in their lives. If one’s comb breaks, and the comb is one of 5 things that one is closest to, such as in the Sikh lifestyle, one can prioritize the replacement of the comb immediately. If, however, the comb does not occupy a significant place in the house or life of the user, its breakage would not hold a particular significance, and among the several other possessions of the user, the user would not feel a certain loss at its removal, And that’s not effective care of one’s belongings.

Bottom line is: know what you keep, and keep it well.