From the Book ‘Money Wealth Abundance’ By Manoj J Lekhi

Happiness is a state of being. Most people in spiritual circles are aware of the fact that happiness is a state of being.

You may have all the riches in the world, you may be the wealthiest man alive, but, at the same time, you may be very poor inside; on the other hand, you may have nothing in terms of material wealth, but may feel tremendously rich inside.

Kabirji says, “Koi baitha kutiyan mein bansuri bajaye, Koi baitha mahal mein aansoo bahaye, Kaise kaise log, kaisi taqdeer.” Translated, this means “one person lives in a small little hut, but plays the flute and enjoys the bliss of life, and he is in seventh heaven. Alongside, there is this other person who lives in a huge palace, and has all the wealth in the world, but finds himself very poor, much depleted and wanting more.”

Prior to SSY, 25 years ago, I was in a similar state. I recollect those days, and myself and my friends. All of us would go out very often, and we would drink and smoke. Our whole life was devoted to partying. I could not even imagine life without drinking or smoking. I used to wonder, “What is the use of living if one does not drink or smoke?” That used to be the only thing that gave me enjoyment!

On many occasions during our drinking sessions, after we had downed quite a few drinks, I would always question my friends and they would question me, in return, if there was something more to life? This question haunted me for many years, but I got no answer; finally, I would end up, saying, “Okay, chuck it, let’s drop this philosophical banter and drink some more.”

This continued till I accidentally happened to undertake the SSY training. I joined to give company to my mother so that she would get cured of all her illnesses without any medication.

However, I feel, more than her, it was I who got back my life; my search ended there. My questions ended, and a new search began – the search within – and this is what SSY has given me. Since then, I have never, ever looked back.

At that time, on the initiation day, Pujya Guruji asked all of us to take an oath that we would do advance retreats once every two months. Four days of Silence – that is the oath I took, and till today, I have kept that oath. I think that is the reason why I feel such abundance today. Inner cleansing leads to outer abundance. After all, there are no boxes. Our inner and outer worlds are not just inter-connected: they are ONE.

I recollect a story I once read: A king went to Mullah Nasaruddin and asked him, “What is happiness?” Mulla said, “If you want to know what happiness is, come back tomorrow with one lakh rupees and, in exchange, I will give you happiness.”

The next day, the king went back with one lakh rupee, and, just at that time, a boy came and snatched that suitcase away. The king ran after him, panting, chasing him for a long distance, but could not find the boy. He sat under a tree, feeling very angry and upset. Just then, Mullah, who had been following them, reached him and asked him, “What happened?”

The king replied that he was very disturbed because he had lost one lakh rupees. Hearing this, Mulla took out his bag and gave back the one lakh rupee to the king, and said, “Here’s your one lakh.” The king was extremely happy. Then, Mulla spoke to him thus, “All right, I have given you happiness, as you wanted happiness. Now, give back the one lakh.”

When the king came to Mullah with the one lakh, the king was still looking for happiness. So the one lakh was not the cause of his happiness.

When he lost his one lakh, he was tremendously sad. And when he got it back, he was very happy. But happiness was definitely not in the lakh. It was just a feeling.

What does this story imply? To have a peak, a valley is needed. To feel happiness, unhappiness is needed. To know the Divine, the world is needed. The world is just a valley. The man was the same, the bag was the same. Nothing new had happened, but now the king said that he was happy and just a few minutes before that, he was miserable. However, nothing had actually changed.