Can money buy happiness?

Letter from New Delhi

It is experience that means happiness. Think of the time you spend with family and friends that means sharing, hugging, laughter and happiness

By Swami Anand Kul Bhushan

Yes. YES, say most people as they hanker for money. People are working hard, very hard, to earn money, not to fulfil their basic needs, but to be happy. Using fair or unfair means, they keep on accumulating money thinking that all that money can buy will bring them happiness.

But does it? NO, because you see very rich persons suffering from anxiety, stress, tension and depression. In the pursuit of money, they forgot that material things are not happiness.

In the end, it is experience that means happiness. Think of the time you spend with family and friends that means sharing, hugging, laughter and happiness.

“I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love,” The Beatles.

Another old song – ‘Love makes the world go round and round’ – no longer rings true as money has been substituted for love for most people. Money-minded, money grabber… are all too common expressions in today’s ‘money-mad’ world. We keep on reminding ourselves that ‘money cannot buy happiness” but the worldlier minded among us retort, ‘Maybe, but it can buy almost all other things!’

The Bible says: ‘For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ Thus, religion has walked two different paths in dealing with money: first, to despise it and live as frugally as possible; and second, to collect it as much as possible for pleasure, ego and charity and build places of worship, orphanages, schools, hospitals et al. This raises the basic question: should money be shunned and despised especially for all those who walk the path for their inner growth?

With his unique insight, Osho has pioneered a third path of accepting the usefulness and the power of money, going beyond it and using it as a springboard for inner growth. “All the religions have been against wealth because wealth can give you all that can be purchased in life. And almost everything can be purchased except those spiritual values — love, compassion, enlightenment, and freedom. But these few things are exceptions, and exceptions always prove the rule. Everything else you can purchase with money. Because all the religions have been against life, they were bound to be against money. That is a natural corollary. Life needs money because life needs comforts, life needs good food, life needs good clothes, good houses. Life needs beautiful literature, music, art, poetry.”

Live life to the full – in all its dimensions and beauty. Yes, earn money, lots of money. Enjoy all the comforts and luxuries if you can. And then, if you are still hankering for the ultimate luxury and the ultimate bliss, go into yourself and discover the untold and unlimited riches within you for this is the real money – indeed, the eternal wealth.

The path to these colossal riches is meditating. Then you move from passion to compassion, from love to bliss. And then love really makes the world go round and round.

Kul Bhushan worked as a newspaper Editor in Nairobi for over three decades and now lives in New Delhi


* Published in print edition on 23 November 2018

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