Every time I go to YouTube or Instagram, I am bombarded with ads from financial gurus about “how to make your first million in 12 months” or “how to 10x your income.”
It’s sad to see the modern world's focus on material wealth and success. No, it’s annoying. Young kids that don’t stop talking about billionaires and idolizing people only because of the amount of money they have accumulated. Regardless of the character of such people. The only thing that matters, is how much money they have.
How absurd is this? How shallow and narrow-minded?
Making money is not the purpose of life. It is necessary, obviously, but it shouldn’t be at the very top of our priorities. We have to outgrow that perception of life. And, according to the Yogi philosophy, we eventually will. But it will take time for the collective consciousness to get there.
I remember playing Roller Coaster Tycoon when I was young, a game where you build an amusement park and figure out a way to make it into a business. And yes, you had to make it profitable to be able to build more rides and attractions. But the real purpose was having fun with it. Building things that people enjoyed. Making it pretty and organized. Let your imagination run wild.
Life is like that game. Money-making is a game. It's just one part of world affairs in which you need to be involved and you need to play your part. To enjoy it, but not be affected by the outcome of such work. To work for work’s sake. To absorb all the lessons that the game teaches you.
Like Siddhartha who played the game of business better than anyone, but was unmoved by profit or loss. His mood was always the same. Because if you get too attached to the success and to material possessions, you're missing what this life is about, which is the spiritual unfoldment and growing until you realize who you truly are.
Making money is just part of the physical experience. Make it. Play the game. Use it as a tool. But always see it as that, a game, a tool. Not as the center of everything. Don't let it control you. Don't let material stuff possess you. Don’t judge every person you meet by the amount of money they make or how they ‘make a living’. Don't let success get into your head. Don’t let failure define your worth.
Recognize there’s far more important things. Peace within yourself, contentment with all that life throws at you, equanimity regardless of your circumstances. Love for your family and friends, kindness to the people you interact with, and the continuous pursuit of growth, improvement and self-development.
