Questioner: Guruji, this question is something most of us face in our day-to-day lives. It’s about money, and why man is so enormously obsessed with money. Is there something like a healthy attitude that one can develop towards money? If you can say something about…
Sadhguru: What’s unhealthy about money? Money is just a means, isn’t it? Man is not obsessed with money. Man is obsessed with what money can buy, isn’t it? It is the empowerment that the money brings, which people want. It’s not the money that they want. The empowerment that the money gives you, isn’t it? The access and the freedom that it gives you with the physical world, which people want. So, money is not the thing, money as a means – yes.
So, is something wrong with money? What’s wrong? We created it. Otherwise we could still have continued our transaction in barter system. Because our transaction got complicated, barter became too tricky – we created currency. Currency became too tricky, so we created a card.
Money in your pocket is good, if it stays in the pocket
So, it is just a means. Is something right or wrong about it? Nothing right or wrong about it. If money is in your pocket, it makes your life easy and comfortable. Because you have some money in your pocket, you are sitting here today, thinking of inner development and things. If you were in the slum, with no money in your pocket, today you wouldn’t be sitting here doing Shambhavi Mahamudra, isn’t it? You would be just struggling to keep that house going. Or building a boat to float inside your house. Something like that, isn’t it? Because you got little money in your pocket, today you can sit here, no matter it’s raining. It’s going to flood. If it floods, it’s ok, we’ll stay in the hotel. Because there is little money in your pocket, this much freedom, isn’t it so? There is no money in your pocket, this wouldn’t be possible.
So, nothing wrong with money. Money in your pocket is good, if it stays in the pocket. If it enters your head, it becomes perversion. For most people, it’s entered their head, and it’s become a perversion. Keep the money in your pocket, makes life easy and good. You can sit and meditate. Yes? If you have enough money that. you don’t have to work for your living tomorrow, you can just take off one month and just meditate, sin’t it? Which the man who is struggling for money for tomorrow’s food, can not do. Even if he wishes to. So, money in the pocket is very good. Money in your head, that’s a perversion which will destroy you.
You must keep everything in it’s place. The two things right now in the world, which is taking almost 95% of human energy – money and sex. These two things are right now consuming almost 95% of human potential, is it so? Even 95 is a conservative estimate. Yes! Almost 100%.
The two things right now in the world, which is taking almost 95% of human energy – money and sex
As money is in your pocket is good and nice. Similarly, if sex is in your body it is nice. But if it enters your head it becomes a perversion. It’s gotten into people’s heads. It’s not in their body. It’s got into their heads. If it was in their body, it wouldn’t be all the time. It would be only sometime, isn’t it? It’s gotten into their heads, and it’s all the time. This is a disease.
If you know how to keep money in your pocket and sex in your body, then you will live your life well. You got both these things into your head, now you can’t live well. You live like a diseased person, because it will rule you from inside and destroy you in so many ways. Everything beautiful about you will be taken away, once money and sex enters your head, isn’t it?
Right now, do you see, the whole world is painted with either money or sex? At least the civilised part of the world. Isn’t it so? Everywhere you see, it’s dripping with either money or sex. Just drive in Mumbai city and see. Every advertisement, every magazine, every book, it’s either dripping with money or sex, isn’t it so?
If you know how to keep money in your pocket and sex in your body, then you will live your life well
Now, these two things, if they fall into their natural places, where they should be – they are not a problem. They are fine. They have their own beauty attached to it. But, if you exaggerate it in your mind, then everything becomes ugly. So money has become a problem because you don’t know where to keep it. Keep it in your pocket, it’s a good thing.
