Shloka 15
Avadhūta’s Teachers: Python, Ocean, Moth, Bee, Elephant, Deer, Fish—and Piṅgalā’s Song of Detachment
न देयं नोपभोग्यं च लुब्धैर्यद् दु:खसञ्चितम् । भुङ्क्ते तदपि तच्चान्यो मधुहेवार्थविन्मधु ॥ १५ ॥
na deyaṁ nopabhogyaṁ ca lubdhair yad duḥkha-sañcitam bhuṅkte tad api tac cānyo madhu-hevārthavin madhu
Orang yang tamak mengumpulkan harta dengan susah payah dan derita, namun dia tidak mampu bersedekah dan tidak juga dapat menikmatinya sendiri. Dia seperti lebah yang bersusah payah menghasilkan banyak madu, lalu madu itu dicuri oleh orang yang mahir untuk dinikmati atau dijual kepada orang lain.
One may argue that a wealthy man may conceal his money so expertly, by investing it in banks, stocks, properties, and so on, that there is no danger of theft. Only foolish people actually hide money by burying it in the ground or placing it under a mattress. But despite the fact that the majority of the world’s wealth has been accumulated in highly developed capitalistic countries, these countries are being severely challenged by many enemies who threaten at any moment to overrun the capitalists and steal their wealth. Similarly, we often find that the children of wealthy people are kidnapped, and then their parents must pay huge ransoms. Sometimes the parents themselves may also be kidnapped. Furthermore, there are so-called investment counselors who are expert in stealing the money of rich people; and in the modern age governments have also become expert in stealing money by taxation. Thus, the word artha-vit indicates one who by hook or by crook is expert in stealing the hard-earned wealth of other people. The bees work frantically to produce honey, but they will not enjoy their honey. As Lord Kṛṣṇa states, mṛtyuḥ sarva-haraś cāham: “I will come as death personified and steal everything.” ( Bg. 10.34 ) Somehow or other one’s hard-earned material opulence will be stolen, and therefore, as mentioned in this verse, one should not work uselessly like the foolish honeybee.
FAQs
This verse says wealth hoarded by the greedy—earned with suffering—rarely becomes real charity or real enjoyment, and is ultimately consumed by someone else.
The honey analogy teaches that a hoarder may know how to acquire and store wealth, but like honey kept in a hive, it is often taken and enjoyed by another—showing the futility of possessiveness.
Avoid obsessive accumulation; earn righteously, use resources in service and charity, and cultivate contentment so your life is not spent gathering what you neither enjoy nor meaningfully give.