Aptavani 02

Author(s): Dada Bhagwan
Publisher: Mahavideh Foundation

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stealing. Lakshmiji will grace her presence where there is no stealing through the mind, speech or body. Stealing obstructs inflow of money. Money and deceit are rivals. When overt stealing stops, one is born into a morally upright family. Deceiving people is subtle stealing, that is considered severe raudradhyan and that results in a life in hell. It is severe raudradhyan when a cloth merchant overstretches the material as he measures. There should be absolutely no tricks or deceit in what one does. A shopkeeper is deceiving his customers when he smiles and tells his customer that his goods are clean even when he knows they are contaminated and adulterated. And if you question his ethics he will say, "This is the only way to do business." A man of principles would tell his customers, "I only wish to sell pure goods, but this is not pure. You can buy it if you wish." If the shopkeepers were to say just this much, they would be alleviated from any karmic liability.
There is so much suffering in Bombay because people have taken more than their share; they hoard more than what they are entitled to. A man who should be rightfully taking five lakhs for himself is hoarding a hundred lakhs.
Questioner : Money is temporary but even so, one cannot live without it. We need money even before we sit in the train.
Dadashri : People cannot do without money. But having money or not is also not under anyone's control. If money could be earned through hard work, then all the laborers work so hard and yet they make just enough to eat, whereas the mill owners have so much wealth without working at all.
'We know the reasons and the causes behind why money comes and goes. Money does not come because of hard work or through the use of intellect (buddhi) or deceit. How does a person get money? If money were earned through honesty, then our political ministers would not make even four
cents! Money comes because of one's merit karmas. Even a mad man will make money if he has the punya. 'We' will give you an example of a mad person.
Inflow of Money A sheth (wealthy man) and his chief accountant were sitting next to each other in Ahmedabad. There was a wooden bench with a cushion on it and in front of it was a platter of food on top of a small table. The sheth was getting ready to dine. Let me describe to you what he looked like. He sat spread three feet across over the floor, a foot and half above the floor was his head. A triangle shaped head with big eyes, a big nose and lips as fat as a donut! And what else but a telephone sitting next to him! The phone would ring often and he would talk into it as he ate. He did not even know how to eat. On the floor scattered around his plate were pieces of puris and rice. The phone would ring and he would speak into it, "Buy two thousand. "Next day he would have made two hundred thousand rupees. The accountant sat wrecking his brains and the sheth made money without any efforts. It would appear that he was making money through his intellect but really that intellect came forth at the right time because of his merit karmas. His success is due to his punyas and this becomes evident when we put the sheth and his accountant together. The accountant is the one with real intelligence, not the sheth. Where did the sheth's punya come from? Was it because he worshipped God with a right understanding? No, it was because he did not have the right understanding. If you are benevolent towards others or do something good for others, you bind punya. Even if you worship God without the correct understanding, you will get result (benefits); just like you would if you were to stick your hand in a fire without understanding the fire. You would still get burnt, would you not?
This is Akram Gnan. This is where you sit in an elevator