Don't increase your necessities unnecessarily

Expressions researched:
"Don't increase your necessities unnecessarily"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

The śāstra says, "No, no. You live with the minimum necessities. Don't increase your necessities unnecessarily." This is Vedic civilization.

Lecture on BG 7.3 -- London, March 11, 1975: Now, this morning one gentleman was asking us that we are not working. We are not working. They think... He is a lawyer. He thinks that unless one works very hard for sense gratification, he is not human being or he is not doing his duty perfectly. That is his idea. But actual life is to become perfect, from the platform of animal life come to the perfection of life. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says, manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu [Bg. 7.3]. Everyone is thinking that "Work very hard like the hogs and dogs, and find out your means of sense enjoyment, and then enjoy it." This is called karmī life. They have no other idea. You will find everyone is working hard. From morning at six o'clock till ten o'clock at night they're working hard. What is the purpose? To get some money and utilize it for sense gratification. This is animal life; this is not human life. But they are thinking that one who does not work so hard day and night for sense gratification, he is not doing. He is escaping. This is the... But actually, they do not see that these devotees are engaged in working twenty-four hours but not for sense gratification like the hogs, but for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa. That is the difference between Kṛṣṇa consciousness man and ordinary man, karmī man. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says that all these men, they are engaged. But the śāstra says, "No, no. You live with the minimum necessities. Don't increase your necessities unnecessarily." This is Vedic civilization. And the modern civilization is even increase your necessities—a machine for shaving your cheek. You see? Another machine, another attention diversion. More machine means more diversion of attention. I have to take care, more technician, more technologies. Simply if one razor can shave, can make my cheek very clean, where is the necessity? Formerly, at least we Indian know that go to a blacksmith and he prepares a razor, very nice razor. You pay him four annas, and it will last for your life and shave your cheek very nicely, daily or occasionally. But the modern civilization means that in everything there must be machine.