You have to be very cautious if you are prosperous, if you have wealth.
Not about losing it — but about losing yourself.
ऐश्वर्यमदपापिष्ठा मदाः पानमदादयः
ऐश्वर्यमदमत्तो हि नापतित्वा विबुध्यते
There are various kinds of intoxications — like alcohol, narcotic substances.
Usage of all these is considered to be papas.
Surapana — consumption of alcohol — is one of the pancha maha patakas, the worst offences one can do to oneself.
Now, among all these intoxications, the worst is the intoxication with wealth.
Lakshmi is worshipped. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth.
But then, acquisition of wealth has to be righteous. Means of acquisition of wealth should be righteous — dharmic.
Its use should also be righteous, dharmic — for good purposes.
But when wealth comes in, one gets intoxicated. His behaviour changes. It causes mada — arrogance, pride.
Symbolically, scriptures attach an owl to Lakshmi Devi as her vehicle.
The owl likes darkness. It operates in darkness.
So, when wealth enters, it is not tamaso ma jyotirgamaya.
It is the other way round.
You have to be cautious about this.
When somebody gets drunk or consumes an intoxicating substance, he would come out of its effect after some time.
He would become normal after some time.
Some of them fall at times, but very rarely.
They come back to senses after some time.
But if you are intoxicated with wealth, only with a fall will you wake up, come back to your senses.
नापतित्वा विबुध्यते —
They won’t wake up unless they fall.
In Hindi, there is a verse:
कनक कनक से सौ गुनी मादकता अधिकाय
एके खाय बौराय नर दूजे पाये बौराय
Kanaka is gold. Opium, the narcotic substance, is also called kanaka.
Kanaka, opium, is hundred times more intoxicating than kanaka, gold.
One becomes mad, abnormal, after eating kanaka (opium),
But one will also become mad and abnormal just by getting kanaka (gold) itself.
So, when acquiring and possessing wealth, you should be very cautious.
The purushartha chatushtaya — dharma, artha, kama, and moksha — go hand in hand.
Artha should be acquired conforming to dharma.
Artha should be spent on attaining kama (desires), again conforming to dharma.
And while doing all these, the bigger goal, the final destination, should be moksha.
