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Re: pursuit of wealth

From the Bhakti List Archives

Praveena • July 12, 1999 


Namo Narayana!

In the responses of pursuit of wealth we saw that most bhaktas
feel that they can go ahead in pursuit of wealth, till they get the
maturity to give it up. Bhaktas here are of different age groups,
starting from 20's to 70's. If no body has the maturity, it shows
that no body is going have the maturity unless we put in efforts for it.

Swami Desika's Vairagya panchakam itself is enough for us to
know that we should not go after pursuit of wealth. It is very
rare to see people who want to earn just for the sake of doing
kaimkaryam. Even if they want to do kaimkaryam, there
are so many other ways out. Doing kaimkaryam is just a reason
for going after pursuit of wealth. If kaimkarya by wealth is so
important Swami Desika, would not have regarded wealth so
insignificantly, Alavandar would not have forgotten his so called
luxuries on seeing our Lord's feet, ... we have so many incidents
showing that we should not go in pursuit of wealth. Our pursuit
can be only towards the greatest wealth - our lord.

Swami Desika says, he who is devoted to the Supreme Lord has a
strong dislike to the objects other than the supreme Lord.

If we have complete belief in our Lord that HE had been taking
care of us and will continue to take care of us where is the need
for us to think or worry about future.

>If I am daily thinking about the
> value of my investment portfolio, how to join the next
> start-up company, or how to pay for the diamond necklace
> I need to buy my wife in a few years, can I truly make
> spiritual progress? Does this not precisely force one
> into the cycle of samsAra, trying to build more and
> more wealth?

Do we really need to spend so much of time and effort
on pursuit of wealth? How much of money do we need?

Swami Desika himself gives us the reply in Vairagya
panchakam.
"silam kimanalam BhavEt ...."

"will not the scattered grain in the fields satisfy the fire
of stomach (hunger)? Is not a handful of limpid water
of a tank sufficient to support the self and body? Is not a
piece of dirty cloth obtained accidentally enough to be
used as a loin cloth? Still persons of wisdom, for the sake
of food unnecessarily resort to mortal kings! Alas! What
a tragedy!"

> My gut feeling is that the example of Sri Desika and other
> gRhastha-s is not an ideal that is to be left merely for saints,
> but something to which all true mumukshus should sincerely
> aspire. Is this still practical? Could Desika have survived
> today? (What few disciples he had certainly couldn't have
> given him enough money to pay the rents in San Francisco!)

Swami Desika would certainly survive and be a role model for
all of us. We see so many of our Acharyas who are very simple.
If we have the will we can spend our life by serving them, learning
our sampradayam...Children can always join the mutt schools and
learn Vedas etc (the real knowledge). We do have so many live
examples even today.

We should take all measures and spend as much time as possible in
bhagavad/ BAgavadAnubavam and limit our wants which in turn
will limit our need to pursue wealth. We should try and practice simple
living and high thinking as our Poorvacharyas have done.

Sita Rama Jayam
Praveena nAmni Ramanuja dasi