Object of
the senses, substance, wealth, property, opulence, prosperity,
an "object of pursuit"; money, is the symbol of fulfilment
and contentment. It is the secular value, which is both desired
and desirable. It satisfies the acquisitive tendency in individuals.
Acquiring wealth is right but it has to be done by fair and legitimate
means.
It is a means to Kama.
'The Artha
Sastra' is the science which deals with ruling the earth. It was
An efficient system of espionage, rotation of officers, judicial
matters, dealing with enemies, are some of the techniques dealt
with in detail in the Raja Neethi ( politics).
It is not 'how much' one earns that matters, but 'how' one earns
it. Wealth accumulated through Dharmic means is encouraged but
not those secured through stealing, cheating, falsehood and the
like. So long as gullible, credulous folk are around, it would
not be difficult for a Scam Artist to rip them off and appear
to prosper. I believe then, sooner or later he will fall by his
own tricks. He is sure to leave some traces which would haul him
up and punish him for all his cheatings.
Secondly,
it is equally important how the wealth accumulated is expended
- whether on the poor and the needy or for a social cause or whether
it is misplaced in evil purposes. A man who enjoys all his wealth
for himself without sharing with the poor and needy is also deemed
a thief.
There is an
all in Tamil "Selvarku Azhagu Sezhunkilai Thangutal"
meaning "the wealthy should support financially the less
fortunate".
While money
is necessary, it is not the 'be all and end all' of life.
It is worth
repeating and remembering - MONEY WILL BUY -
"A bed
but not Sleep
Books but not Brains
Food but not Appetite
Cosmetics but not Beauty
A house but not a Home
Medicine but not Health
Luxury but not Culture
Amusement but not Happiness
A crucifix but not a Savior
A church but not Heaven"
Money should
be like our footwear. If it is too big it would not fit, nor would
it fit if it is too small. It should be of just that size that
would fit your foot comfortably.
money should
neither be more nor less than what would be absolutely necessary
for carrying on life without pangs and without getting into debts.
Anything less would be miserable; Anything more would spoil you.
We may encounter
many interpretations, in my opinion, the purest concept is described
below:
When
we act accordingly to our own deep responsibility, and ' our true
nature'. It is only then, when we experience the feeling of fulfilment,
this is the end of the journey, no more no less, in only here
that prevails both high ethics and morality.
If you ask yourself what is dharma you should better ask yourself
this question "What is my dharma"? That question will
avoid useless philosophical arguing, asked yourself "How
can I best serve the needs of others through my mundane career
"?
An Honest Buddhist will say:
The Buddha
taught that direct realization of any individual was superior
than relying on speculation or traditional beliefs. Subject to
personal interpretation and Political manipulation, hence the
need to understand dharma by understanding your true nature.
Another
Buddhist asked:
Isn't personal and social evolution best served by each of us
trying to become a Buddha?
My experience is being described:
Certainly,
we can best help the world by becoming enlighten human beings
and who naturally serve others; this is true, because we are personally
fulfilled. This is the deepest way of meeting our dharmic obligation
to society and to God.
However, the
truth 'as I realise it' is that everyone also has a unique nature
or an external duty towards society, which we are naturally inclined
to fulfil, regardless of any spiritual status. It does not matter,
if you are truly enlightened, you can run a business and bring
prosperity for yourself and to the world, this is in my opinion
the highest performer. That is why some enlightened beings leave
society when they reach enlightenment, others have families and
still others embark on some great social or religious project.
Before Krishna,
Buddha and Christ, Mohamed etc: The ancient sages and avatars
were suggesting that the highest standard for moral and ethical
behaviour is best served when the person selflessly serves and
gives to others. This is true over-delivery,
What they were suggesting throughout centuries is that the best
way to ensure that your every action is moral and ethical is to
follow your caste nature. Please let meexplain, although we are
born equally at the same time we are different, we distinguish
from one another in a myriad of forms, talents, objectives and
circumstances and within this diversity there is an unconceivable
unity Principle! This is a reality that nobody can deny.
And what
would a disabled child's parents do to fulfill the Dharma?
How do we
do it? This is what we do; if you have to cope with recurrent
emergencies, soon you realize that there is not much free time
available, all the wonderful theories borrowed from the ancients
have to be reduced to a minimum and practical day to day events.
The best
short cut and effective way that comes to my mind is, 'always
listen to your heart', and what did our heart tell us to do? To
assist Joshua with the best of our capabilities, to learn the
how and when to be or not to be, to set priorities, be clean and
honest, work hard to overcome frustrations and impotence, to keep
going even in the most dreadful events, believe me, to get the
sweet taste from bitterness is a wonderful experience that will
make you content and fulfilled.
I thought that what has happened to us was so unique that it can
only be equated to those science fiction stories that really shake
your very foundations, we have to drop all the empty rituals and
engage ourselves with a loving service attitude and without interruption.
Sometimes it is hard like a diamond but the result is very rewarding,
diamonds shine!
According to ancient Vedic Shastras Krishna is regarded as the
greatest of the Avatars and He proclaim in the Gita: the meaning
and importance of righteousness in order to sustain the world
order. Krishna clearly mentioned that everyone has a path 'unique
in diversity' that we must follow in order to uphold righteousness
and lead to his or her individual salvation.
