Economists, politicians and corporations are all talking about how greed is destroying values and ethics, and is responsible for the current economic meltdown and recession. Greed is seen as a disease that needs to be wiped out and everyone is looking for a quick solution — a law, a set of instructions, a code of conduct that the world needs to comply with.

When the word ‘greedy’ is said, images of corrupt politicians, underworld goons, and insensitive corporations crop up in our minds. Our films, our novels, the media, reinforce this visualisation. Greedy is the bad guy, the evil guy, the vile wretch who the hero destroys.

Yet that was not how the sages saw greed.u00a0As they sat in forests, they observed that animals were not greedy. They ate what they needed to eat. They stored what they needed to store. The lion after eating its meal does not trouble the deer. The elephant after having its meal does not destroy any more trees and simply enjoys playing with the herd or swimming in the river. So what makes humans greedy?