Right Attitude Towards Money

Let Me tell you one incident from My life; My first connection with money. I tell you exactly that same pattern only still I am living with money. At the age of... My third birthday, I was three; usually in the young age – I am born and brought up in a village, Tiruvannamalai, Ramana Maharshi’s place – now it is a little kind of a town, but in those days it was a village. I am talking about thirty five years before, one generation before. So it was a village. Usually in the villages, all the family people will give money for the kids, during birthday and all these auspicious days. And I was born in a joint family, where eighty seven people lived together. Just few days before for My Biography, I calculated – eighty seven people lived in one house. The house is eighty thousand square feet, eighty thousand square feet house, and eighty thousand square feet ground. There was little some parts had a double story, but all other eighty six thousand square feet ground floor... so huge joint family.

Naturally, aunt, uncle, cousins, each one came and gave one rupee, two rupee. Those days one rupee means it’s equivalent to now, you can say hundred rupee or thousand rupee. So I had a one kerchief where all the money was there. I was sitting and My father asked Me, “What are you going to do?” I said “what to do with it?” I asked him back “what to do with it?” He said, “you can buy whatever you want.” I said, “I wanted only a Ganesha and you already gave me, he gave me one Ganesha. If you have read My Biography the Ganesha who ate food that Ganesha only; still he is there in the Ashram. And I want only Ganesha, you gave me already Ganesha; I don’t need anything more.” Then he asked Me, “You don’t want this money?” I said, “No, I don’t need. He said, “Then you can give it to anybody you want.” All My brothers and cousin brothers, sisters, all of them were playing there. I screamed, called them, saying that, “Hey, whoever wants this money please take it.” First actually I thought all of them will come and pick up little, little, little. But one of My elder brother, he is very strong guy, he came and took the whole thing. When My father interfered, and he said, “Aiee” – he told Me – “No, no, no, tell him to share with everybody. Call everybody and give equally.” I looked at him and said, “I don’t need, whoever takes it, what is there for Me, leave it.” I tell you this is My first experience with the money. This exactly the pattern still I am living.

And I also wanted to tell you, any project I want to do, money comes... simply it comes. All that I need to do is tell that I am going to do. Now today morning I said, and I am going to build an hospital. I tell you honestly, now I don’t have money, but I will tell you, next time when I come, I will be announcing – money has come, we are building the project. I just know. See money is simply extension of your understanding about you; your strength on you; your strong belief on you. I am not talking something impractical, please understand. No. I am not talking anything mystical or impractical. Whatever I am talking is a formula. It is not just miracle happens only in My Life. It is a formula which can happen in every one of your life. The right attitude towards money is, please understand, the right attitude towards money is – it has utility value, for the things you want to do. Neither suffer with the feeling I don’t have enough nor be overloaded and develop arrogance, or ego, or influence by having it. Neither be influenced by not having nor be influenced by having. It is such a awareness game.