kriyayogamalaysia

Wisdom before Wealth

From our e-book “Filling our Life with Celebration”

I was seating in a hotel lounge waiting for a colleague to arrive. On the sofa across where I was, were two men in business suits conversing with each other. I recognised one of them from a news article I once read and he is a billionaire.

The billionaire was talking to his friend about a topic most of us are interested in; money. He said to his friend, “others say that there are other things more important than money such as a happy family but why can’t we have both. If we have a happy family, wouldn’t it be better if we were also wealthy? We could give them a comfortable life and give our children the best education. Sure, we can just spend so much but pass a certain point; money gives us power to influence the world. We can influence the politicians with our political contributions and change the laws to our liking”.

Convinced? I must admit that the billionaire throws a very convincing argument.

Before we agree, we should consider the response of  Tiger Woods when asked why he cheated on his wife with the other women. He explained that he did so because it was easy for him; because of his wealth and fame. Jesus said that the love of money is the root of all evil; it is not money that is evil. In other words, wealth brings about a lot of temptations and an unwise man may make inappropriate choices when faced with the temptations. But to a person with wisdom money becomes to tool for a happier life.

The billionaire’s argument is true but only to a wise individual. Secondly, on the argument of changing the world; I have discussed this in an earlier chapter. This is the world of duality. Everything has a right side and a left side; a positive side and a negative side. Nothing is entirely good or entirely bad. The world is as it is today because it is appropriate for humanity’s current state of spiritual evolution.

Every negative event will also have a positive swing to it. When China invaded Tibet, there was much suffering and chaos. Thinking about it now brings me sadness. I have read a few autobiographies about the invasion and I am familiar with the atrocities that happened during the invasion. But, I must also acknowledge that after China’s invasion, Tibetan Buddhism flourished throughout the world and this contributed positively to the spiritual evolution of humanity.

One need not feel sorry for oneself if one is not wealthy because it may be a blessing from the Divine. His Higher Self may have chosen for him to be an example to others on how to lead a life of happiness through simplicity. I have been blessed to meet many such
individuals and I am grateful to them for showing me what is truly important for one’s happiness.