“It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy”-George Lorimer

THE striving for wealth by honest and approved methods and not connected with the exploitation, oppression, suffering and degradation of others is a laudable activity. Indeed, just to survive and keep our heads above water, we have to acquire some modicum of wealth in this ubiquitous monetary transactions – oriented, ultra-materialistic culture. Also, no one can deny that financial security brings a certain level of control and fulfilment in one’s life. Even then, we have to be very careful not to cross that critical line where the pursuit of wealth is no longer a means to some presumably fulfilling end but where it is the end itself. Here ‘more than enough’ is too little and no amount of money can then suffice when money – seeking itself has become obsessive and we end up in a wild goose chase, hunting down that which cannot be captured. The extremity of this addiction can be seen in the lives of most of the super-rich, who having already amassed incalculable wealth, become so cruel, aggressive, merciless, ruthless, and mean-spirited in their ‘bullheaded’ exploits to accrue even more wealth. Just like drug addicts who typically require increasingly more of their chosen drug to get high, these super wealthy require even greater wealth to feel that ‘wealthy high’. Their sense of self, happiness and wellbeing is inextricably tied to their wealth. The world admire them as being enormously successful but their emptiness, insecurity, fear, and sorrow is so deep – seated that secretly they envy the poor because they can never experience the moments of carefree abandon, joy and exuberance that the poor can have.
We are constantly bombarded by so many messages and images, all seeking to have us believe that the doors of happiness will be opened in direct proportion to the material goods we procure and the wealth we amass. These messages and images must be recognised for what they are; they conceive of happiness purely in monetary terms and, therefore, happiness and money or the insatiable thirst for wealth becomes identical. All the wise teachers from time immemorial have exhorted us that enduring happiness and peace already exist within us. It follows, therefore, that it is accessible (at least potentially) to everyone and at any time. Since it does not exist outside of us, it cannot be pursued or hunted down (like that vintage car, Rolex watch, or Tiffany bracelet). The extent of our financial assets, our investment portfolio, our physical surroundings, or even the state of our health have very little to do with its attainment. From the broadest and grandest perspective, this inner calmness, harmony, peace and wellbeing is the real wealth that we should pursue with all our heart and soul. Even a little hold on this wealth will give us infinitely greater joy than that fleeting ‘high’ that is obtained from the procurement of a coveted material object, and it will serve as an impregnable fortress to protect us from any raging turmoil that may be taking place outside.
We are worth infinitely more than the amount in our bank account or the other assets we may have. And even if we have no bank account or no other assets, our worth would not in the least be diminished. Our state of inner wellbeing and happiness must not rise and fall with the fluctuations in our bank balance. This nexus between wealth and happiness has to be broken. Life and the possibilities of life cannot be limited to the circumference of merely pursuing material acquisitions. We are the paragon of all beings and all the powers of the universe are within us. By this ceaseless craving for material acquisitions we have become like grovelling animals, earth – bound, sensual, unenlightened and uninspired. When we do so we become like the eagle that grew up among the barnyard chicks and because he thought he was a chicken, he lived and died as a chicken. He was born to break the powerful wind in skillful flight of graceful majesty but became grounded in mind and body. We too were born to soar to the heights of freedom and bliss. Do not be grounded by the glitter and glamour of wealth. Do not measure your self – worth in dollars.

CECIL RAMKIRATH
Bayonne, NJ, USA