Throughout the world, there are many intelligent people concerned about the serious problems we have with the environment, like the polluted air we breathe, the contaminated water we drink, global warming, overexploitation of the Earth’s resources, out-of-control waste management, deforestation, species annihilation, ozone depletion, and more.

Many thoughtful scientists, politicians, economists, and others have presented numerous measures to deal with these disasters. And some have identified human greed as a fundamental issue that must be addressed.

On January 12, 2010, The Guardian, a UK newspaper, published a piece entitled: “US cult of greed is now a global environmental threat.” The article cites a report from the Worldwatch Institute, founded in 1974 to provide a “vision for a sustainable world.” Erik Assadourian, the project director who led a team of 35 people that produced the report, said: “Until we recognise that our environmental problems, from climate change to deforestation to species loss, are driven by unsustainable habits, we will not be able to solve the ecological crises that threaten to wash over civilisation.”[1]

Professor Stephen Hawking, widely regarded as one of the foremost minds of our times, has said on a few occasions that greed will kill off humans.[2]

Echoing Stephen Hawking, Pope Francis was reported to have said on November 20, 2014, “God always forgives mankind, but the earth does not.” He further commented that if men continue to be greedy about abusing natural resources to make a profit, the earth will eventually take her revenge.[3]

Many of the wisest among us have recognized greed as the root cause of our environmental disasters. And now that the real problem has been identified, a solution may be found. However, as usual with environmental issues, it’s far easier to see that a problem exists than it is to resolve it.

Unfortunately, most solutions intended to counter greed are unsustainable, especially on a large scale, and certainly not without revolutionizing the global consumer culture. However, Krishna does present a solution in His Gita. He not only speaks at length about greed, but He also maps out a realistic way in which it can be overcome on an individual and societal level.

On Greed

The dictionary defines greed as intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food. Greed is synonymous with overconsumption and self-indulgence.[4] Throughout history, great thinkers have been in general agreement on this definition.

Jesus said, “Be on your guard against greed; life doesn’t consist of an abundance of possessions.”[5] The Koran states: “But he who is greedy and thinks himself self-sufficient, we will make smooth for him the path to evil.”[6] In Buddhism, illusion, greed, and hate are the three poisons that cause suffering and rebirth.[7]

Karl Marx wrote the following based on the idea that greed is synonymous with injustice and inequality: “Money is therefore not only the object but also the fountainhead of greed.”[8] Thomas Jefferson said, “Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.”[9] Thus, Marx and Jefferson certainly viewed greed as evil, but their impressions of it were in relation to humankind. Unfortunately, their solutions, like those of other political ideologists, were limited to restricting the kind of greed that impacts only humans.

Those mentioned above have presented solutions. Religious perspectives generally focus on individual practices that will control one’s animal nature and allow one to rise to a higher, more compassionate, less greedy state of being. Political ideologists usually favor societal solutions—that is, through government and laws, greed may be restricted.

These remedies may work to a degree. However, a more practical approach would be to first analyze the workings of greed, and then propose a solution based on that analysis. As far as such a mechanism is concerned, Socrates said: “Wars and revolutions and battles are due simply and solely to the body and its desires. All wars are undertaken for the acquisition of wealth; and the reason why we have to acquire wealth is the body, because we are slaves in its service.”[10]

Interestingly, this observation is very close to that of Krishna in His Bhagavad Gita, wherein He states that the senses—seeing, hearing, and so on—are powerfully attracted to their objects—form, color, sound, objects of touch, etc. He says that when the mind contemplates those objects, desire for them arises, and the intensification of that desire is greed.[11]

Socrates says that one is slave to the body. Krishna says that we are slaves to the senses, which in effect constitute the body. He goes on to say that the way to free the mind from such slavery is to redirect it to the soul. This He calls yoga, which shouldn’t be confused with the yoga that’s practiced simply for bodily health.

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[1] January 12, 2010, The Guardian, https://goo.gl/Yo11cF

[2] Stephen Hawking: Greed will kill off humanity, https://goo.gl/WztPHB

[3] Pope Francis: https://goo.gl/dZjaU9

[4] Google’s definition, “define greed:” https://goo.gl/tbMeMn

[5] Jesus in Luke 12:15

[6] Koran: Surah Al-Lail 92:8-11

[7] The three poisons: https://goo.gl/KS1rpH

[8] Marx: https://goo.gl/A1C1VN

[9] Jefferson: https://goo.gl/aZyCE1

[10] Socrates: https://goo.gl/njjC4w

[11] BG 2.62, 15.9