Advaitam and Science

OM, Purnamata purnamitam purnat purnamutachyate, purnasya purnamataye purnamevavasishyate – Bri.Up V.i.1

MONEY AND FAME

                                                                        MONEY AND FAME

Majority of the people in the world are after this – money and fame.  Many succeed in their path and many do not.  Some people get it as a flash in a pan.  They sacrifice their peace of mind in search of these two things.  When they taste it, they will never remain calm.  Money and fame have power.  We have to work hard day and night to earn money and get fame.  Can we really enjoy money and fame?  When we do not have time, then how can we enjoy them?  We can enjoy them only for a period.  Somehow, the nature will find a way to grab it from us; does that mean that money and fame are not important in life?  No, definitely not.  We need them both for our physical well-being and social well-being.  We desperately need money, because for every two hours our hunger asks for it.  Fame is needed to maintain our dignity and social status.  At the same time, not everything is possible by money and fame.

When we talk about our physical and social well-being, there is a need to remember the Raja Rishis of ancient India.  They sacrificed money and fame to attain self-realization.  They were famous rulers, who ruled their subjects with perfect justice.  Somehow, there was an urge in them to search for more, something more than they really have with them.  That was spirituality.  They left their kingdom in the hands of responsible people, and left their land in search of self-realization.  They felt that self-realization is more important than their luxurious life.  They were capable of maintaining their well-being with the wealth of spirituality.  They had strong minds to shrug off their difficulties to attain higher knowledge.

Money and fame are very important for a normal person, but what is more important is, the way we deal with it and relate to it.  If we relate money and fame as our only qualification, then it will become a barrier for our growth.  If we view them as a mean or a tool for access, then they are not a barrier for our progress.  With money and fame, we can have many possibilities in the world.  There is nothing wrong with money or fame, but the way we use it and relate to it is very important.  Sometimes we mess up our life in the way we use them, and bring poverty and defame by using money and fame.

In my view, culture plays an important role.  If our culture is economically dependent, then we will relate our whole being to money and fame.  If our culture is spiritually dependent, then we will know the value of our own self and the importance of money and fame in our life.  We relate to the world accordingly.  The basic nature of a person depends on his culture.  Money and fame are only a means and not an end.  A person as a being is more important in all situations.

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