I Am Rich, But Not Attached To Money
Mani Bhaumik
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My first moment of epiphany was when i looked up at the stars and felt the presence of something powerful. But that was in my childhood and i had left all that behind me. After years of excitement and hard work, i had everything to be happy about. The problem with excitement is that one excitement needs a bigger one to be satisfied. I thought that people live happily as long as they had enough money , but i could still feel an emptiness in me.There was a party at my house one day. After the guests had left, i was alone beside the swimming pool. My thoughts strayed to my growing up years in India. In those days, though my stomach ached with hunger and my pulse throbbed with the anxiety of an uncertain tomorrow, i never walked alone. All around me was the undeniable presence of that living web from which all things are born and continually unfold. That moment, i knew the cause of my unhappiness at once `That' presence was missing. I was satisfied with what i had, but i wasn't happy. That's when i decided to get to the bottom of this feeling of unhappiness. Over a period of time, i found myself asking the question: Who am I? I was in a rat race like most other scientists who don't have the time to think. Moreover, i had my poverty to overcome.
After achieving my goals, i thought i would be happy but i wasn't. I felt that i should know more about my Indian spiritual heritage. I remember what M K Gandhi said, “Happiness is an inside job. It can't come from the outside.“ But gradually i became a sceptic scientist and my motto was to not take anyone's word for it. I decided to study religion and did so for 10 years. What i found blew my mind. I realised that there is a higher power just like the Brahmn that vedanta describes and it pervades all space without exception.
I resolved to pledge myself to working in concert with others with a common desire to forge a new alloy of spirituality and science, strong enough to withstand the centrifugal forces of our age.
The fact is, we need to believe in a higher power that is universal, and much bigger than us. In all spiritual traditions, we have the desire to communicate with that entity .piness doesn't come from Happiness doesn't come from science; it comes from experience and clarity. When my mind is clear, i feel one with the Source. That's how i got back my peace of mind. Money is necessary; you can't renounce everything and go to the Himalayas. For spiritual progress, renunciation is not required.Attachment is what causes problems, and you need to guard yourself against it. I may have all luxuries, but i'm not attached to them. I can enjoy a luxurious life; i can take it or leave it.
We have 5,000 years of tradition; Buddha says that attachment causes suffering. Relieving suffering by renunciation is not the right way; you don't have to renounce everything and go away , although it is easy to do so.
After achieving my goals, i thought i would be happy but i wasn't. I felt that i should know more about my Indian spiritual heritage. I remember what M K Gandhi said, “Happiness is an inside job. It can't come from the outside.“ But gradually i became a sceptic scientist and my motto was to not take anyone's word for it. I decided to study religion and did so for 10 years. What i found blew my mind. I realised that there is a higher power just like the Brahmn that vedanta describes and it pervades all space without exception.
I resolved to pledge myself to working in concert with others with a common desire to forge a new alloy of spirituality and science, strong enough to withstand the centrifugal forces of our age.
The fact is, we need to believe in a higher power that is universal, and much bigger than us. In all spiritual traditions, we have the desire to communicate with that entity .piness doesn't come from Happiness doesn't come from science; it comes from experience and clarity. When my mind is clear, i feel one with the Source. That's how i got back my peace of mind. Money is necessary; you can't renounce everything and go to the Himalayas. For spiritual progress, renunciation is not required.Attachment is what causes problems, and you need to guard yourself against it. I may have all luxuries, but i'm not attached to them. I can enjoy a luxurious life; i can take it or leave it.
We have 5,000 years of tradition; Buddha says that attachment causes suffering. Relieving suffering by renunciation is not the right way; you don't have to renounce everything and go away , although it is easy to do so.
