Pragmatic Spirituality - Money is the Future

The state of Human beings now

Many of my blog followers have requested me to write some topics connected to the essence of Veda in a simple way, which a common man can put to use. I titled this topic as “Pragmatic Spirituality” as it can be applied in our day-to-day life to improve its quality. In the name of civilization human race has lost ‘Peace’ which is the essence and purpose of life. Veda proclaims that our true nature is “Ananda” which means ‘happiness’. But we see an average modern man is always like a taught rubber band for some unknown reasons. There is a syndrome called “Zikernic Effect” after the name of the Russian psychoanalyst who explained this. This syndrome explains the state of the modern human beings who are always in a state of incompleteness and keen to complete some pending actions hoping that they will be happy there after. This never happens as Dr. Richard Carlson said “Your inbox will never be empty” and always there are actions pending in our life. 

Learning from the great masters ever since I had the privilege to get exposed to the subject of Veda I have been constantly attempting to alter my normal state of being, which by default used to be ‘Miserable’. Just like thermometer, if there were a ‘happiness meter’, which could measure your happiness level it will indicate that most of us are always in the RED zone of misery in spite of what we possess or achieve. Earlier I used to invent reasons to be un-happy while everything is going well, by His grace. With the application of the approach in this series I have converted myself as a person who is, by default, happy most of the time.

Even any situation tumbles me I swing back like a karate champion to my ‘peaceful’ state; if I can do it, why not you? Are you ready? Since you have read this far that in itself shows you are already spiritually initiated irrespective of any religion or caste. By the way what I am covering here is nothing to do with any religious belief but a science if you may wish to call it, which you will agree in due course. The reason I titled this series, as “Pragmatic Spirituality” is it converts the abstract Vedic knowledge into a ‘cook book’ application rules, which you can practice like learning to ride a bicycle. You may fall down a few times, but if you persevere you will get there.

“Veda” – The life saver:

Veda is the essence of our culture and tradition but long forgotten as it is “out of fashion to talk about spirituality”. It is reserved for old age when you have nothing else to do. Very strangely we ruin our entire life in pursuit of wealth as the famous adage says, “We sacrifice our health for wealth and spend all it to get back our health”. Let us examine the role of money in bringing happiness into our life.

Strangely, we never respect what we already have and give importance to what we don’t have! Rajneesh once said, only when you have headache we recognize that we have something called head. We often take our relationship granted when all is well and cry when the person has departed. Rajneesh says, ‘we cry due to the unfinished relationship with that soul’; if we have lived our life fully well with that person we will never cry and say good-bye to them.

One commodity, which is missing in the developed world, is peace or else why 30% people in the US are consuming sleeping pills and spend maximum of their earning with the ‘Psychoanalysts’? It is increasingly becoming evident that ‘Happiness is not hiding in material wealth’. The modern society has mixed up with ‘happiness’ and ‘money’ without realizing that there is no cause and effect relationship between them. I am not recommending you to stop earning money; but all that I am appealing to you is ‘Money has no power to give you happiness’.

Money – The new Paradigm

In this issue let me deal with ‘Money’ as the topic. Recently I happened to listen to a debate whether money is “Past” or “Future”. For those who don’t have money, it is the “future” and for those who have it is “Past”. But Veda says that whether you have money or not still you can inculcate the state of mind of both at your will. Ramakrishna Paramahansa was believed to have kept gold in one hand and mud in another and dropped both of them in the Yamuna River. For a common man he was “Mad” and they moved him to asylum. The pity is “the common man chasing wealth appears to be mad in the eyes of an enlightened person and vice versa”. The madness depends on what state one looks at the other. 

For the vast majority of us, ‘Money is the future’ – in fact we spend our whole life in pursuit of money with a hope that ‘One day we will be happy’ after having enough bank balance. Strangely we chase it in spite of what wealth we have and the game never ends. In fact there is only one purpose of life for many and that is earning money. Looking at the past life of people like Michel Jackson, Marlin Monroe and the similar celebrities like Elvis Presley who had all that they wanted in their material life but finally killed themselves. It seems that the other side of the material wealth is “Emptiness” because it is not all that is easy to kill oneself unless he or she losses all hope in life. The biggest disappointment for these people might have been they expected some sort of great happiness and found none.

Paradigm of Power

In the corporate life we came across people like Steve Jobs who made all wealth and power in their little span of time called life. Strangely they were expelled from the very institution they have built fondly. Now there is news that the board of Microsoft is preparing to expel its founder Bill Gates as he is giving away all his wealth to the poor. We find many people who earned maximum in their life suddenly become philanthropic and wanted to give away what they earned to the needy. It is strange to notice this feeling that dawns on those who saw the other side of the wealth. If they feel hording gives happiness, why they do the reverse of it? Why these people finally finding it is empty on the other side of the material pursuits; while the common man is mad after money?

Money is ‘Past’ or ‘Future’

There are people seeking enlightenment like Buddha sitting in Himalayan caves alone in peace and solitude while the common man feeling lonely in the crowded market place!! Gautama relinquished all the ephemeral pleasures, which he was enjoying till he was 29 and suddenly found emptiness in them. It is not all that is easy for any human being to throw away pleasures of a kingdom and walk out like a beggar. For Buddha “Money is the past” and for a common man “Money is the future” – it is the attitude towards money and nothing to do what we have. Happiness comes not out ‘what we have’ but from ‘what we think we have’.

The two paradigms “Money is the future” and “Money is the past” has different driving forces in our behaviour. If we agree, “Money is the future” we become mad after it and go all out to amass wealth and die one day like a street dog without seeing the other pleasures of life. If we agree the Vedic message that “Money is the Past” it has less influence on us. Let me explain little more in detail. One of the famous adage says, “You are as rich as much you can spend” – which means although one may have million dollar he can eat only two or three chapattis and not hundred at a time. In this context the money is treated as “Past”. This paradigm gives you a notional feeling that you are rich. This happiness is coming out of the feeling that ‘Others don’t have’ and hence you are happy.

An anecdote:

There was an occasion when Toyota organized a meet for all “Lexus” car owners during the initial days they have launched when the car was very exclusive. Each owner who came to the meet thought that there might be only 5 or 10 cars there, but to their surprise there were thousands of Lexus parked in the lot and they found even difficult to locate their car!! This has disappointed them as so many of the people have the same car what they possessed. This shows that our happiness is not coming from what we have – but what others don’t have!! Don’t you think that this is a sadistic pleasure?

Summary

In summary, if you go by the paradigm “Money is the future” one become a mad goose who chases the happiness through wealth. If you choose “Money is the Past” the wealth looses its ability to make them happy. The best way to live peaceful life is to understand that there is no cause and effect relationship between money and happiness. Veda says that “Material possessions can never give you happiness” as happiness is the state of the being already. All that is needed is turn to your true nature and instantly you will be happy.

Swami Maharishi Mahesh Yogi once said that “Human beings saying that they are not happy is like fish saying it is thirsty – all that the fish has to do is open its mouth and allow the water to go into its being.” He says that we have to make up our mind to be happy and not to seek from material wealth.

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Be Happy from this moment and forever! God bless you.

Love

NC