Swami Swaroopanandaji was welcomed into a packed auditorium. He began by explaining what our Net-Worth is. Is it merely how much wealth we have saved or is it our Self-Worth? We also understood being wealthy is not the same as being rich, so not being wealthy does not mean being poor.
Swamiji quoted Chanakya who said, “There is no syllable which cannot be made into a Mantra, no root that is not medicinal and no person who is not capable.” But what is rare is a person that can make all of it happen; such a person is not only wealthy and rich, but great as well. Do not underestimate yourself. As Sri Krishna explains in Bhagawad Gita, “Lift yourself by yourself.” Improve your own capability and thought. Do not let yourself fall.
Swamiji gave a very inspiring example of Deepa Mallik, javelin thrower and Arjuna awardee. She was paralyzed waist down and was initially dejected and morose. Once she started focusing on what she had rather than what she did not have, she completely changed her life. She continuously challenged herself, believed in herself and increased her Net Worth! So much for us to take away; to realize how much we have and thus, how much potential we have. To inspire us further, Swamiji recounted his own journey from being in tremendous pain, unable to move to today … giving so many lectures all over the world, meeting people and heading Chinmaya Mission. He urged us to have a single focus - on only what we can do.
We are rich when we know our self worth. Our net worth can increase when our self -worth increases. Our rishis showed a very clear difference between being wealthy and being rich. Kabirdas was a weaver but he never felt he did not have enough. On the other hand, some have lots of money but still feel they do not have enough. We were left with lots to think of - Which category are we in? Do we realize that monetary wealth cannot buy happiness? It can buy medicines but not health; acquaintances but not friends. Our health deteriorates first, then we use wealth to better our health!
Swamiji made us understand that being wealthy is not bad; ‘rich’ not a dirty word. The misplaced importance given to wealth is the problem. To increase our self-worth and therefore our net worth, there has to be a shift in our mindset. We must realize our biggest asset is ME, MYSELF. We come with some inheritances because of our past destiny and birth, but what do we do now - brood on our apparent losses or failures? Or do we realize that they can be turned. We have to change our attitude from that of failure to one of purpose. The fear of failure makes us restrict our goals. We must value, recognize and be grateful for what we have. Time is our greatest wealth; making good use of our time increases our wealth. If we lose time, we can never retrieve it. Do what you must NOW. As Pujya Gurudev says, “We are all born to succeed!”
Another of Swamiji’s big takeaway is that a greedy person is always needy, but a person who lives by his needs is always rich. It is the law of nature that richness attracts richness. Do whatever you can to the best of your ability, with sincere efforts and live by your needs. Be content; then you will not need too much monetary wealth. Our goals should not always be monetary.
Ishavasya Upanishad says that those who pursue spirituality neglecting material progress will also enter deep darkness. Those who pursue wealth without pursuing spiritual values will attain greater darkness. Material pursuits should be done with spiritual values. We can condemn greed for wealth, not pursuit of wealth. The story of the man who had one cow in his destiny and how he used to donate it daily, was very inspiring. We all need to invest in the Lord’s Bank. Swamiji’s talk ended with our realizing that today’s Management gurus are using the tried and tested wisdom of our Scriptures; just adapting and packaging it well.
