We learned that one definition of rich is: “abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds.” In other words, wealth, or richness, is not limited to how much money one has. There are many other resources and means that we have at our disposal. To be rich is to possess a multifaceted gem. The size of your bank account or the number of possessions you own are just two rather insignificant facets of that gem. See these 5 resources or facets which helps a person to become wealthy and happy…
1) Self-Criticism or Self-Reflection
Socrates stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” In accordance with this sentiment, yoga teaches us to dovetail our tendencies to criticize others by reflecting upon ourselves. We all have good and bad qualities. We generally have a tendency to overinflate our good qualities and to overlook our bad qualities. With others, however, it’s just the opposite. We tend to overlook their good qualities and love to point out their faults. This fault finding tendency will forever hamper our spiritual progress. Therefore, it is highly recommended that we direct that tendency toward ourselves.
What are we looking for? Arrogance, pride, false prestige, anger, conceit, ignorance, envy, lust, greed, covetousness, hatred, fault-finding tendencies, selfishness, hypocrisy, laziness, weakness, duplicity, hard-heartedness, over indulgence, lack of self-control and the like.
At first glance, we may not see any of this stuff in us and conclude that we are really good people. “I tithed at church, I gave alms to a beggar, I helped a little old lady cross the street, and I even helped Suzy with her homework. I really am a good person.” But if we dig below the surface, we may find that we begrudgingly gave that tithe, because we wanted to use the money to buy beer for the Friday night party at Suzy’s house. And, we might remember that we cheated on the tithe because we didn’t include the money we made for helping Suzy with her homework. Then when we look at our act of giving alms to the beggar, we might realize that, at the time, we didn’t bother to respect that person, we were very puffed-up with pride, thinking the guy was a filthy, pathetic loser as we angrily tossed a few coins at him—coins, which by the way, could have bought another beer for the party. And what was our attitude as we helped the old lady cross the street? “Ah, the old biddy is a menace to society. Jez, now I got to wash my hands. Who knows what kind of diseases she’s carrying around.” And what was my motivation in helping Suzy with her homework? Money and boys, because Suzy is cool and gets all the boys, if I’m her friend, then the boys will think I’m cool too.
Okay, I admit it, kind of silly examples. The point is that if we examine ourselves and our motives, we will find many, if not all, of those qualities. What then? Do we hit ourselves over the head with a hammer? No, first of all, we become more tolerant of others’ faults. We see someone has a fault, but instead of criticizing that person, we are reminded that, in comparison to our own faults, his is nothing. Secondly, we are reminded that we are far from perfect, therefore we need to focus on those yogic practices which help us advance. It does not mean we leave the attitude to help and cooperate our friends and society. We still continue to do good things for others, but we need to shift the thinking pattern behind it. There’s no need to go to battle with each and every fault we find in ourselves. That is a futile battle doomed for failure. Just increase the positive yogic practices and gradually the faults will fade away.
2) High Thinking
Yoga and meditation train us to focus our thoughts on higher things. How valuable is that? The Buddha put it this way: “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” Confucius echoed the same sentiments: “The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.”
3) Self-Worth
Most of us think that our material body is what makes us valuable, or invaluable, depending on our situation in life. Yoga and meditation, however, teach us that our real value lies in the living force, or atma, within the body. We may think that we are attracted to the beautiful body of a woman, or the physical prowess of a man, but actually it is the spark of life within that we are attracted to. When a movie star or a famous sports figure “dies,” all of a sudden, no one is interested in their bodies. All that is left is a stiff lump of matter, which, without formaldehyde, will quickly decompose into a stinky mess and finally merge back into the earth.
Scientists have calculated that the physical body is comprised of approximately $10 to $20 worth of chemicals. That’s the value they have placed on a human body. But does anyone really think they are only worth $20 – about the same value as a cheap polo shirt or an inexpensive meal at a casual dining restaurant? Of course not. The value of our lives is incalculable. Therefore, we must conclude that it is the living force, within, which is valuable, and which we are attracted to. When the living force is present within a material body, then the physical body becomes valuable. When it leaves, the body, in and of itself, is worthless.
4) Giving Attitude
As I mentioned earlier, one of the greatest ironies of life is the fact that as long as we continue to seek happiness for ourselves, we will never be fulfilled; but as soon as we engage ourselves in the service of others, we, ourselves, strangely become happy and fulfilled. A great yogi is not one who reduces men to his own service, but is one who gives himself in the selfless service of others. This is the process of karma and bhakti yoga. Anyone can practice karma or practice bhakti yoga no matter what stage of life they are in, but the self-realized souls must engage in selfless service if they want to retain their enlightened consciousness.
In other words, blissfulness is a natural condition of the soul. But that bliss cannot be found as long as “we” are the center of our world. All the great yoga teachers and philosophers teach us that the highest happiness is found when we begin to care about and work for the welfare of other people rather than just caring about ourselves.
5) Love
Last, but not least, love is the greatest treasure of all. But what do we mean by “love?” The English language uses the word “love” to describe many different levels of consciousness. For instance, the word love is used to describe a person’s pure, unalloyed, divine affection for the Supreme Person; and it is also used to describe a person’s purely selfish lust for extreme sensual enjoyment. In Sanskrit, the former word for “love” would be called prema; and the latter would be called kama. In between kama and prema, are many different types of love, also known as rasas, or flavors of love.
Whenever there is a desire to gratify our senses, this is known as lust and should not be confused with love. When there is a desire to please others, this is a type of love of one sort or another. When there is an intense desire to please the Supreme Person, this is known as prema or pure spiritual love.
Prema is the ripened fruit of all our yogic practices, and is to be considered the greatest of all treasures. A person imbued with prema is not only situated in her constitutional position of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Eternality, Full Knowledge, & Blissfulness), but she is experiencing a joyfulness which is way beyond anything conceivable here in the material world. Even the great transcendentalists who have experienced merging into the Brahmajyoti (The “All Blissful,” Formless, White Light), cannot imagine the joy of someone situated in Prema. When one merges into the Brahmajyoti, it is impossible to describe that experience to a materialist. It’s just way beyond anything the mind can conceive. Yet, even one who has experienced merging into the Brahmajyoti, cannot in any way conceive of the experience of Prema Bhakti, pure unalloyed love for the Supreme Person.
Instead of trying to imagine it, we must follow in the footsteps of such great personalities who are imbued with prema (the Acharyas, or teachers by example). The Acharya not only points out the path for us, but he also walks it. He knows the path backwards and forwards, but sometimes it appears as if he is just a few steps ahead. He conscientiously points out the stumbling blocks, thorny bushes and other obstacles which we may encounter along the way. By sincerely following the path, and sticking close to the acharya’s footsteps, our hearts and minds gradually become purified, and with purified intelligence we desire to do the will of the All Pure. By dovetailing our will with the Divine’s will, in love, we become pleasing. Then, like little children who have full faith that their parents will protect them, we take shelter under the umbrella of Divine Protection. At that point, we are completely joyful and satisfied by bathing in the rays of love emanating from the Reservoir of all Pleasure. Yet we may still be lacking prema. It is only experienced by the Causeless Mercy of the Supreme Person.
May we all embark upon the many-forked path of yoga, which eventually narrows unto the path of bhakti, which leads us the the most wonderful, and greatest of all Treasures—Prema Bhakti, or pure, unconditional spiritual love for the Supreme Person and all other living beings. And, in the end, let us call upon the help of those Divine Personalities. Without Their help, our progress will stagnate.
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