Gita 16.13

Sadhak: "But isn't some planning for the future necessary? Don't we all think about what we have and what we want?"

Guru: "There is a difference between practical planning and psychological bondage. The wise person may plan but is not possessed by the plan. The demoniac mind described here is not planning but fantasizing compulsively. Notice the phrases: 'gained by me,' 'shall be mine.' The emphasis is on 'me' and 'mine'—ego-identification with acquisition. A sage may manage wealth without this fever of ownership."

Sadhak: "How do I know if I've crossed into this demoniac territory in my own thinking?"

Guru: "Ask yourself: Can I be at peace without the next acquisition? Is my sense of worth tied to what I possess? If you cannot enjoy what you have because you are already chasing what you don't have, the fever is present. The test is inner peace—not whether you have or don't have, but whether having or not having determines your peace."

Sadhak: "Society rewards acquisition. How to function in such a world without developing this mindset?"

Guru: "Function without becoming a function. Act in the world, but let your identity rest in the Self, not in assets. Arjuna was asked to fight a war—maximum worldly engagement—but from a place of non-attachment. The issue is not acquisition but identification with acquisition. Acquire if life requires, but know yourself as what cannot be acquired or lost."