Lord Rama Speaks on Wealth

Lord Rama continues to speak to Sage Vishwamitra.

Wealth, the means for acquisition of joys, only fools give importance to wealth. Money can never give happiness. Money has always ever given problems only. Fools think that money can get them happiness.

If you see people who have been attacked, who have been killed, who are in jail – you will realize that money is behind all these. Money doesn’t give happiness when it is acquired. It will make you desire for more and more. Doesn’t give you happiness. And when it is lost there is unhappiness, which is for sure.

Has money ever made a man wise? No, money can only make you into a fool, make you lose your sanity and discretion. Even if you see a wealthy man wise, it is not because of his money. He has brought and kept all the lures and temptations of money under control. That’s why he is wise.

When you say he invested wisely or manages his money wisely, it is something else which is at work. Money can not give wisdom. A wealthy man is like a swollen turpid river of the rainy season, very active, but with all kinds of impurities, mud, decayed stuff. There is no beauty in this kind of river. You can’t write a nice poem about the river of the rainy season. Even if you have to write, it will be a dark poem.

This is what wealthy men are like, like the turpid, dirty river of the rainy season. This is what they become. This is what money makes them into. Worries are like the daughters of the goddess of wealth. She gives birth to so many of them. And just as waves take birth in water and grow bigger and bigger with the aid of the wind, these worries also grow by so many of those influences.

This goddess of wealth also, she doesn’t know what to do when she is with these foolish people. Her behaviour is erratic. She behaves like someone who has accidentally stepped on fire, has burned her foot, doesn’t know whether to sit or run, that's how she behaves when she is with these foolish people.

And even when she is with them, she doesn’t protect them. They lose her, money gets stolen, money is lost by getting cheated. She allows herself to be subjected to all these. And she herself destroys the person who possesses her. Goddess of wealth doesn’t have any discretion. Like some people in power. They won’t take advice from wise people. They would listen to those who are close to them, not bothering whether the advice is wise or not. In the same way goddess of wealth also would go to anyone, without any discretion, not seeing whether they deserve her or not.

And even where you see that wealth is growing, there also it is seen that dishonesty, deceit, aggression and harm to others are behind it. Water precipitates into snow. If you see in the Himalaya this is how ice is formed. First the soft snow. Then as wind keeps on blowing on it, snow becomes hard ice. It forms layers of hard ice. Wealthy people are also like this. Initially, they will be charitable, magnanimous, kind towards others, help others. But as wealth grows, they become hard like the ice. They become callous. They become unconcerned.

There may be shiny brilliant gemstone, but you pick them up with dirty muddy hand, they also lose their brilliance. This is what wealth does to people who were good before. Once you become wealthy this is what happens. You lose your original qualities and become something else. Someone else.

Money is like a poisonous snake which you rear as a pet. You love it as much as you want, you take care of it as much as you want. But the snake has no such feeling towards you. It will bite you and kill you at the first opportunity. Money is like this. It is only capable of giving you grief. Even when you have it, it is dangerous.

But we also see people, wealthy people who are truly generous, truly magnanimous, truly charitable, true philanthropists. What about them. They are very rare, very rare to find. Like these three kinds of people who are also very rare in this world: a rich person about whom nobody talks bad, meaning someone or the other would talk bad about rich people; a courageous person who wouldn’t boast about himself; a boss who would look upon all his subordinates equally, without any favouritism.

Money is like a cave in which only poisonous snakes live. Money is like an open ground, frequented by elephants and any time you can be attacked and trampled by them. The wealthy person is like a lotus, a lotus that has shrunk in the night. With the sun gone, viveka gone, a wealthy person shrinks like how lotus would shrink in the night. And his miseries and problems would blossom just like how the blue water lilies, the neelotpala flowers blossom in the night. And wealth for them is like moonlight, which makes them to blossom.

The flame which is there within you, the flame of knowledge, wealth would come as a wind and blow it out. Wealth brings fears to the mind, apprehensions to the mind, suspicions to the mind, agitations to the mind. If you consider lust, greed, arrogance as owls, then wealth is the night-time they wake up. Wealth is like a night in which the lotus called wisdom and discretion can never blossom.

A man goes to buy a property, a piece of land and when he goes there, there is rainbow in the sky. Looking at it he believes that it is such a beautiful place. He thinks that the rainbow is going to be there forever. He decides to buy the property. This is how wealthy people behave. They think that money is going to be forever with them.

Wealth is the most unpredictable thing in the world. It can come and disappear in no time. Like waves, wealth is like waves, you can never predict waves sitting on a seashore. So unpredictable. Wealth is like a small flame which can be blown out any time by a wind.

Touch a sword and see. It is cold and comfortable to touch. But see what it can do. It can kill. Money is like that sword. Goddess of wealth is very beautiful, she attracts everyone, she makes someone adventurous, she is sometimes achieved through heroism, adventure. She is also as unpredictable as a lightning. You can’t predict where lightning is going to come in a cloudy sky. And she comes and invariably disappears also like a lightning.

She is like a poisonous creeper growing out of a hole full of poisonous snakes. It can only destroy you. Says Lord Rama to Sage Vishwamitra.

• Wealth never produces true happiness; it only fuels endless desires and anxieties.

• Riches are often at the root of conflict, crime, and downfall.

• Money does not create wisdom; it usually clouds judgment and makes people reckless.

• A rich person’s life is compared to a swollen muddy river: active but polluted and ugly.

• Worries are the natural offspring of wealth, multiplying like waves on the sea.

• Wealth behaves erratically: it deserts its possessor, gets stolen, or ruins him directly.

• Richness hardens the heart: generosity at first turns into cold indifference as fortune grows.

• Money is like a poisonous pet snake: pampered but ready to bite fatally.

• Truly charitable and wise wealthy people are extremely rare.

• Riches are like caves of snakes or dangerous open grounds filled with elephants — insecurity is constant.

• Prosperity makes a person shrink in wisdom, just as the lotus closes in the night.

• Knowledge is like a flame; wealth blows on it like a storm and extinguishes it.

• Lust, greed, and arrogance awaken in the night of wealth, preventing wisdom from blooming.

• Wealth is unpredictable and fleeting, like a rainbow, a wave, or a flash of lightning.

• Riches rob people of their original good qualities, turning them harsh and selfish.

• The allure of wealth is like a glittering creeper sprouting from a pit of snakes — attractive but deadly.

What is the real problem with wealth?
Wealth creates more suffering than joy. It looks like a source of comfort but breeds greed, fear, and rivalry. The mind becomes restless, always craving more or worrying about loss. True peace cannot coexist with constant desire and insecurity.

Why do people still chase wealth then?
Because it promises instant pleasure and power. The glitter blinds them to its poison, just like a child drawn to fire. The hope of status and security is stronger than the lessons of history. People imagine they will be the rare exception who masters wealth without being mastered.

If wealth can also fund charity, isn’t it still useful?
Wealth is only a tool; the quality lies in the user, not the money. A generous heart can use wealth for good, but such people are very rare. In most cases, money takes control and corrupts the person instead. The exception proves the rule.

How does wealth affect the mind?
It multiplies worries and restlessness. Like waves rising from the sea, anxieties rise as soon as wealth appears. Instead of giving security, money opens new fears about loss, theft, or betrayal. The richer a person gets, the heavier the burden of guarding it.

Isn’t some worry natural in life anyway?
Ordinary life brings concern, but wealth intensifies it. A simple man worries about food and shelter. A wealthy man worries about enemies, heirs, taxes, rivals, and betrayals. The scale and weight of fear grow along with his riches.

Can’t careful planning and security stop these worries?
External safety can reduce risk but not erase inner restlessness. Even kings with armies and fortresses feared conspiracies and downfall. The core problem is attachment, not lack of planning. As long as the mind clings to wealth, worries never end.

How does wealth change a person’s character?
At first, prosperity may make someone kind and charitable. But as it increases, the person becomes hardened and self-centered, like snow turning into thick ice under strong winds. What once was generosity freezes into indifference.

Is this change inevitable?
It is very common because wealth magnifies ego. Only someone with strong inner discipline can resist its pull. Without wisdom, fortune slowly strips away softness and compassion.

Can you give a real-world example?
Many business leaders start humble and generous, but after years of wealth, they become harsh employers or aloof rulers of their empires. The same money that empowered them gradually eroded their empathy.

Why is wealth called dangerous like a snake?
Because it never truly belongs to the one who feeds it. A pet snake may seem tame, but its nature is venomous. Likewise, money nurtured with love will turn against its owner the moment conditions change.

Why would anyone keep such a ‘snake’?
Because its glitter and power are intoxicating. People imagine they can control it, blind to its nature. They see short-term pleasure and ignore the lurking danger.

If it is so fatal, how do some still survive wealth?
Survival depends on restraint and detachment. Those who treat money as a passing tool, not as identity, can live without being poisoned. But such people are exceedingly rare.

Why is wealth compared to waves, rainbows, or lightning?
Because it is unpredictable and fleeting. Waves vanish as quickly as they rise, rainbows disappear the moment clouds shift, and lightning dazzles but is gone in an instant. Wealth too comes suddenly, dazzles, and then slips away.

Doesn’t hard work guarantee permanence of wealth?
No, because circumstances change beyond personal control. Political shifts, disasters, betrayal, or health can erase fortunes overnight. Effort can bring wealth, but cannot secure it forever.

If impermanence is the rule, what lesson should we take?
The wise invest energy in stable inner wealth — knowledge, virtue, and self-mastery. Unlike money, these cannot be stolen, lost, or corrupted by time. What is unshakable should be valued more than what is fleeting.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi