Wealth guardians

There is always this thing about wealth. People want to safeguard it. AND, yes, there is some element of truth in it. That if you fail to care for your wealth, it will drain away, leaving you with nothing. But, as with everything in the world, there is such a thing as going too far...with anything. I mean, yup, you got to safeguard your wealth but if all you do with wealth is to safeguard it...

Tiru pops up with this on the issue

Porulaanaam ellaamendru eeyaadhu ivarum marulaanaam maanaap pirappu - Tirukkural

He who, assuming that wealth shall give rise to all joys, refuses to part with it shall only be a demon - Loose Translation

You see, in Indian myth, there is this concept of treasures guarded by demons. In Tamil, such beings are called 'Puthaiyal kaaththa bhootham' i.e Treasure guarding demons, literally. And then there is this belief that a soul which has a strong attachment will linger around as a ghost in the vicinity of the object of its attachment. Now, whether Tiru was intending to say that the chap will be reborn as a treasure guarding demon OR whether he said that the chap's ghost will linger on around his wealth even after his death or, even, that he was metaphorically calling that chap akin to either...who knows? The point is that Tiru had no great opinion of misers.

But, note that 'eeyaadhu'. THAT means that our chap was not GIVING to anyone. In other words, his wealth is not being deployed to HELP anyone else. So, yes, Tiru has become a more conventional philosopher here. What he has to say is that you need to sort of 'spread your wealth around'. In other words, you need to not only spend on yourself but to spend on others as well.

Which, come to think of it, stands to reason when you are thinking of the 'joys' that wealth can bring you. I mean, how many joys can you think of that you can get without other people getting involved in the mix. I mean, yeah, let us agree with you that counting your pennies is great fun but really? Can you enjoy doing it 24x7? Enjoy OTT series and trolling on Social Media 24x7? Yes? THEN you are ALREADY that demon/ghost!

No? Then you have got into the area where you need to spend on others. Try surrounding yourself with people as a rich man and never spend a penny on them...even in the times of their need. See how many stick around you thereafter. Wealth CAN be the source of joys but the joys will come via people. (Yeah, yeah! Comes the time that AI fulfils all those needs, this kural may become redundant but ONLY because ALL people would have ended up as ghosts in the machine!)

Until AI's kingdom come, you need to be willing to part with some of your wealth to other people in order to get the joys that wealth can give you.