Money

Money

Question:
How do you look at money?

Hitesh:
Financial and even emotional states are mental rather than actual.If you think you are happy,rich or educated,you start feeling the same and you also behave like that.I have seen people who are not very educated but they behave very sensibly and logically.On the other hand,very highly educated people sometimes can’t think straight and logically.Same with location.I have seen Indians in USA living a lifestyle worse than some Indians residing in remote villages of India and vice-versa.These are exceptions but they are indicative.People have a lifestyle,thinking,culture and character which after a certain age can not be changed by addition or reduction of wealth.

For living a middle class lifestyle,the first one or two crores matter.After that whether you have 2 crores or 10 crores,you will have the same problems and joys of middle class.The person having 2 crores will have a Maruti Car and one having 10 crores will have a Mercedes car.But they both will face the same traffic problems.Because neither can afford a helicopter.They share the disadvantage of not having their private helicopter.Similarly they also share the advantage that they do not have to wait for a bus.The person having 2 crores may be in a 2 BHK flat and the one with 10 crores may be in a 4 BHK flat.But both will have air-conditioned bedrooms to sleep in comfort.So how does money matter for one’s own comfort?And being middle class is not about financial assets but it is about way of thinking and culture.We all know that there are many rich people whose culture and mentality are simple and down to earth and therefore they choose to live with the middle class mentality though they do not need to.

Money of course matters for showmanship.Mercedes may impress the people around you.But we do not and should not want to impress and live for others.

As long as one’s comfort and dignity is maintained there is no serious reason to complain.And as far as showmanship or greed is concerened,it has no end.Even the richest man in the world wants to be richer.

Same with rich class.A top film star may have a 1000 crores and a top industrialist may have 10 times more than that.But they dine at the same five-star hotel.They both have latest models of Mercedes.And even their children fight over their property after their death…So how does money matter even there?For living a rich lifestyle maybe the first 100 crores matter,then whether you have 500 crores or 5000 crores is a non-issue.

And in today’s time,how do you know who is rich and who has got how much money?A person in Mercedes may be having a loan of 1 crore to be repaid.Do we check their income-tax documents and balance sheets?And are income tax documents truthful?

So I believe money should be made and saved for one to carry on with life with dignity.One should even chase money for certain periods of life if it gives one joy and success.But chasing money for a lifetime just to outdo one person after another is a waste of life.I know it’s intoxication and a difficult temptation to resist.

But life has many better things to offer than money.