In the Holy Quran terrible warning is given to those who
amass money and do not pay zakat. The Holy Prophet used to dole out to the poor
whatever, he fund more than, his family needs. The Quran and his teachings
exhorts zakat, Almas and Sadqat for the circulation of money.
In Hindu mythology Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, rides on
an owl. It depicts that man intoxicated with wealth is owl in human shape. A
rich man’s shopping mall is described as, “It is a place where people spend
ill-gotten money, money they have not earned, to buy things they do not need at
all, to impress upon people they do not like. Even these realities fail to give
a jolt to man to come out of this unnecessary, futile and worthless
intoxication. Pursuit of wealth goes on. In ‘getting and spending’ he wastes
his life. He sins, reads scriptures, goes to holy places, rings temple bells;
murmurs prayers, repents over his follies, touches his ears and swears not to run
after money, thanks God for whatever He has given him and displays his satisfaction.
But it is all show off. The moment he steps out of the temple, the same rat
race for money starts and he gets steeped into its mire. He knows that the way
to hell is paved with gold but he does not fear hell. How strange it is!