How much money do you need?

We come into this world and chase after shadow-shapes that lead us to destruction. One such shadow is money wealth. Every one of us wants more and more money and we are willing to do anything to get money, even commit fraud and sin

We come to live upon this earth for a short while but we begin to chase shadows and illusions; we become enslaved by our senses in pursuit of pleasures. Have you seen a fly hovering over honey? It is tempted by the honey and wishes to taste it, just a little, and then fly away. Alas, that is just not possible. Having tasted the honey, the fly is trapped in the sticky sweetness; it struggles to escape, but in vain; and it meets its painful end in that sweet and cloying liquid, which becomes its death trap. The human condition is similar; enchained by our own passions and desires, we are trapped in the illusion that is life.

We come into this world and chase after shadow-shapes that lead us to destruction. One such shadow is money–wealth. Every one of us wants more and more money. And we are willing to do anything to get money, even commit fraud and sin.

How much money does a man need? One lakh? Ten lakhs? One crore? Alas, there is no limit to man’s greed for gold. He who has one million, wants to have one billion. As for the billionaire, he wished to become a multi-billionaire. Chasing after these shadow shapes, man loses himself, and his life. His lakhs, crores and millions are all left behind when he dies.

So it is that Guru Arjan Dev tells us in his bani, “He who is caught in the vicious cycle of desires, comes to naught.”

There is an old English Morality play called ‘Everyman’. It opens with God commanding Death to go and summon Everyman to appear in Heaven before Him to face his final judgement. Death appears before Everyman and asks him to leave upon his final journey. Taken aback by the unexpected summons, Everyman calls upon all those whom he had valued and cherished in his life to accompany him on this dreaded journey: Fellowship, Kindred, Cousin and Goods (symbolically, these allegorical characters represent Friends, Family, Worldly Wealth). However, all of them refuse to accompany him. Fellowship tells him that he will be with him only for eating, drinking and making merry; Kindred and Cousin offer lame excuses; Goods, i.e. Material Goods tells him that his presence will only make the situation worse for Everyman. In utter fear, Everyman turns to Good Deeds, and requests her to accompany him. Good Deeds assures him that she will be with him; but Everyman has neglected her for the greater part of his life, and that has made her weak and frail; so she offers to bring her sister, Knowledge, to guide them on the journey. Knowledge makes Everyman understand that he must repent for his sins and seek God’s forgiveness. She also makes him realise that he will have to leave behind everything including herself, when he faces God for his final Judgement. Everyman’s earthly qualities, Beauty, Strength, Discretion and Five Wits also desert him at the final moment; Knowledge stays with him till the final moment, but she too must be left behind. Good Deeds alone goes with him till he reaches Heaven.

The moral of the story is obvious: our worldly associations and acquisitions are of no value to us when we face the call of Death. It is only the good that we do here that will help us in the journey beyond life into death.

Human life is a rare and precious gift that had been bestowed upon us by God, so that we may attain salvation, and reach Him. Lord Jesus tells us that the man who runs after the world is enchained by the world; he who drinks the salty water of the sea to quench his thirst will find that he will bloat with the saltwater, unable to slake his thirst. Thus it is, that, a man drives himself towards disaster. If only he could open his eyes to the truth, he will realise that this world is but a bridge which he has to cross in order to reach his Beloved. In the beautiful words of the Nuri Granth, Gurudev Sadhu Vaswani tells us:

“O, dear one! The Ocean of divine comfort is before you.

Do not go away thirsty from its shore.”