Pilgrimage to Prosperity
By Karmayogi
For fifty years, India is aspiring to abolish poverty and to usher in Prosperity. At the same time we hear as a chorus, Money must not be a goal. It makes man mercenary. It rekindles our greed.' That cry finds an echo in our hearts. We sink low, as our lofty aim is here described as a mean motive. This is a confusion and not a real issue. Who are these people who voice this moral indignation? At least half of them own more than half a crore. To answer them is easy. Let man not seek money. Let him stop his search when he reaches your level of affluence.' The other indignant ones are those who are sure of not getting rich due to lack of talents and opportunities. People who are passionately greedy for money try to reach MONEY which is located nowhere. Hence the frustration. In my view, patriotism today is to work for national prosperity and the only realistic way of accomplishing it is in one's own life. How can someone working in an office or factory become vastly prosperous? No one will deny now that education is the foundation of today's prosperity. Money that issues out of physical labour is better earned when education, a mental tool, is added to it. I advocate the next higher TOOL. It is seated in the Spirit as skills. Values are spiritual skills. Whatever your vocation, when you add values to it, you will see Prosperity in abundance is the result. Honesty, integrity, truthfulness, fairness, and justice are higher values. Punctuality, politeness, pleasantness, record keeping, orderliness, soft speech, cleanliness, accuracy, precision, workmanship, and thoroughness are physical values. Perfection is the wider term that covers both. Be where you are. Do what you are doing. Add values to your work. Go on adding them in quantity and quality. You will reach the heaven of Prosperity.
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