Swami ji said…
‘Money. Wealth. Property.’ The mere thought of the tinkle of coins , the feel of crisp notes in our hands, a plush home, a few acres of land here and there – and we sigh in contentment – as though assuring ourselves – that once we’ve finally acquired all of these – that are coveted by all – we will then be well set on our path of ‘discovering’ happiness.The myth that money can buy us happiness – ‘external’ happiness – which is only temporary, fleeting – as ‘happiness’ today is associated with material comforts , privilege and power – which once again are all transient in nature. We have developed a kind of a firm belief that – ” हमें सुख तब ही मिलेगा, जब धन हमारे घर में आएगा…” The ironical part is that man – who describes himself as the most intelligent creation of God – refuses to see beyond the glitter of money – and ignores the voice that reminds him to be sensible as there is no guarantee ; no written law which states – that money can and will bring him everlasting happiness.
Can any one of us guarantee that our health will remain perfect – once extra money makes its entry into our homes? Will the much desired increment in our pay package – keep us happy and stress- free, even, if, we are to burn the midnight oil day in and day out – unable to spend time with our family and friends? Won’t we become moody, ill – tempered – running to keep pace with the new demand from life ? ” क्या धन की प्राप्ति कभी भी, किसी भी तरह से दुख या तकलीफ़ को हमारे पास नहीं आने देगी?” Will suffering, grief or sorrow never knock on our gilded doors – on seeing wealth guard our main portals ? So besotted are we with the envisaged happiness of a wealthy, moneyed future – that we fail to see all the goodness that prevails in our present circumstances.In a stubborn way – we refuse to see anything good in our life that we are living in the present time – as we have already pinned our hopes on money to bring – सुखी समय – alongwith it in the future. “पैसे की चमक – धमाक में हम ये तक भूल जाते हैं कि ‘धर्म’ के जिस मार्ग पर हम आज चल रहे हैं – क्या हम कल उस पर चल पाएंगे भी या नहीं ? इस बात में कोई संदेह नहीं है कि जब हम ‘धर्म’ के पथ पर चलेंगे, जीवन ‘धर्म’ के अनुरूप बिताएंगे – तब ही हमारा जीवन सुखमय बनेगा…”
We need to be aware that greed and hunger for ‘money’ – not only corrupts the ‘mind’ – but also the ‘soul’. Their evil influence – not only blinds us to reason – but it also has the power to take away our ability to discern the difference between righteousness and wickedness ; prevents us from doing good ‘कर्म’ – and instead encourages us to indulge deliberately in bad ‘कर्म’ – from which there is no escape when we are in a rush to make some quick money. And why do we do this ? Only because we have made the foolish mistake of relating happiness with money.
Today if we were asked to make a choice between – ” जीवन भर ‘धर्म’ के रास्ते पर चलने के लिए या किसी भी तरह ‘धनी’ होने के लिए – तो हम क्या जवाब देंगे?” Most probably, we might opt to be the latter – as on seeing the fate of many who refused to ‘change’ with ‘changing’ times -” jinhone ‘dharm’ ke path par hi chalna chaha”- we feel it would not turn out to be profitable to emulate them. ” What did they achieve by remaining steadfast to their values and principles ? They have nothing today !” – is what we could say while evaluating them. But on seeing how prosperous are all those who had surrendered to the splendour of ‘धन’ – we somehow feel that it would be beneficial to follow them – who seem to form the majority today.
Would it be possible for a spiritual seeker to focus on his goal to merge with God – if his mind drifts constantly towards matters related to accumulation of wealth and assets ? Certainly not. Once he understands that his greatest assets are his mental strength and physical preparedness – which will enable him to to follow the path of righteousness – no amount of money can ever make him part with the bliss, peace and divine joy that he experiences by following his chosen path – from which he does not intend to deviate.
Dedicated to Swamiji Ajay Jain ji 