Wealth of those before.

 

24. Wealth of those before. Where have gone the riches of those before us? The religions of God clearly tell us we can’t take this worldly wealth with us: This pomp and pageantry are mainly for show and distraction, for this worldly existence alone, not for the next world. The spoils of this world that we fought so many difficulties to attain will be as leaves scattered to the winds; all our worldly treasures gone, when we pass on out of this earthly life.  Judaism: Ecclesiastes 1:3 “What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? 1:4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever.” Ecclesiastics 5:15 “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.” Psalms 49:16 “Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;” Psalms 49:17 “For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.” Psalms 49:18 “Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.” Psalms 49:19 “He shall go to the generation of his father’s; they shall never see light.”  Christianity: Matthew 6:19 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:” Matthew 6:20 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:” Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:22 “But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour.” John 6:27 “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

 BABI RELIGION: “O peoples of the world! Whatsoever ye have offered up in the way of the One True God, ye shall indeed find preserved by God, the Preserver, intact at God‘s Holy Gate.”

(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 46)

 ISLAM: 48. “The men on the heights will call to certain men, whom they will know from their marks, saying: ‘Of what profit to you were your hoards and your arrogant ways?”’ 49. “Behold! are these not the men whom you swore that Allah (God) with His mercy would never bless?” 82. “Do they not travel through the earth and see what was the end of those before them? They were more numerous than these and superior in strength and in the traces (they have left) in the land: yet all that they accomplished was of no profit to them.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surahs 7 and 40)

Islam: 25. “And he that will be given his Record in his left hand, will say: Ah! would that my record had not been given to me! And that I had never realized how my account (stood)! Ah! would that Death had made an end of me! Of no profit to me has been my wealth! My power has perished from me! (The stern command will say): Seize ye him, and bind ye him, And burn ye him in the Blazing Fire.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah 69)

 ZOROASTRIANISM: 31. “But without any reason men adhere to that evil guide, Passion, created by the demons; so that they do not think of Fate, And by the bent of their nature they forget death. They do not keep in mind the working of Time and the transientness of the body, They ever go wandering about on the way of desire, They are tossed in doubt by evil Passion, They clothe themselves with spite, in the course of strife, for the sake of vanishing goods; They are intoxicated with pride in their youth, And shall be full of regrets at the end of their time.”

(Zoroaster, The Zend-Avesta, Avesta Fragments)

 Zoroastrianism: Denkard. Zoroaster, “A man into whose body the spirit of greedy desire enters, displays, consequently, a longing for worldly riches. To this, then, is the best remedy (for him) when the material wealth of this world seems to be a surplus to a man, he should think thus: Consider that what is held by me why should I hold if it be necessary to relinquish it soon henceforth.” “Worthless (are) the worldly riches; because within a day it is possible that a man (who) was this morning a healthy artisan, and (is) now with remote aspirations, becomes ill and disabled and hopeless within six hours, and before the night (falls) that one dies and even his entity becomes nil on the third day when it mingles with the earth and becomes dust. (2) Mankind should reflect from this, thus namely, ‘when it was possible in the case of that man, it might happen to me who am (in this world),”’ “One should keep as much wealth as would not, consequently, stop one’s industry.”

 HINDUISM: 6. “And as here on earth, whatever has been acquired by exertion, perishes, so perishes whatever is acquired for the next world by sacrifices and other good actions performed on earth. Those who depart from hence without having discovered the Self and those true desires, for them there is no freedom in all the worlds. Because those who depend on their good works are, owing to their passions, improvident, they fall and become miserable when their life (in the world which they had gained by their good works) is finished.”

(Hindu, Upanishads vol. 1, Khandogya-Upanishad Part 4 Upanishads vol. 2, Mundaka-Upanishad)

 BUDDHISM: “And I discovered that-profound truth, so difficult to perceive, difficult to understand, tranquilizing and sublime, which is not to be gained by mere reasoning, and is visible only to the wise.”

“The world is given to pleasure, delighted with pleasure, enchanted with pleasure. Verily, such beings will hardly understand the law of conditionality, the Dependent Origination of every thing; incomprehensible to them will also be the end of all formations.”

“Death, the end-maker, will exercise his will on a man busy picking flowers with a besotted mind, before he has even found satisfaction. We must all come to an end here. Whoever lives only for pleasures, with senses uncontrolled, immoderate in eating, lazy, and weak, will be overthrown by Mara, like the wind throws down a weak tree.” And where then will be his riches and wealth he accumulated in this life; gone to the four winds will it blow.

((The Eightfold Path), Buddha, the Word (The Eightfold Path) (Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 1 and 2 (tr. J. Richards))

 SABEANISM: “To each according to the works of his hands It is awarded.” “Every man who toiled And was long-suffering shall come and take with both hands, But he who did not toil nor endure, Standeth empty in the House of Dues.” “He will seek but will not find, and ask, but naught will be given him, because he had in his hand and gave not,” Sloth was his way of life in this world; he gained nothing for the afterlife and left nothing in the world. (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 123)

Sabeanism: “All fruits perish; all sweet odours vanish, (but) the perfume of Life is established for ever and unto world’s end upon those who love His name of Truth.” But useless worldly possessions are passed on to those who will have them and matter not to the spirit. (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter 8)

BAHA’I FAITH: “Whither are gone the learned men, the divines and potentates of old? What hath become of their discriminating views, their shrewd perceptions, their subtle insights and sage pronouncements? Where are their hidden coffers, their flaunted ornaments, their gilded couches, their rugs and cushions strewn about? Gone forever is their generation! All have perished, and, by God‘s decree, naught remaineth of them but scattered dust. Exhausted is the wealth they gathered, dispersed the stores they hoarded, dissipated the treasures they concealed. Naught can now be seen but their deserted haunts, their roofless dwellings, their uprooted tree-trunks, and their faded splendour. No man of insight will let wealth distract his gaze from his ultimate objective, and no man of understanding will allow riches to withhold him from turning unto Him Who is the All-Possessing, the Most High.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Summons of the Lord of Hosts)