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Money belongs to the one who spends it; that is an absolute law. You
may pile up money, but it doesn't belong to you until you spend it. Then
you have the merit, the glory, the joy, the pleasure of spending it!
Money is meant to circulate. What should remain constant is the
progressive movement of an increase in the earth's production - an
ever-expanding progressive movement to increase the earth's production
and improve existence on earth. It is the material improvement of
terrestrial life and the growth of the earth's production that must go
on expanding, enlarging, and not this silly paper or this inert metal
that is amassed and lifeless.
Money is not meant to generate money; money should generate an
increase in production, an improvement in the conditions of life and a
progress in human consciousness. This is its true use. What I call an
improvement in consciousness, a progress in consciousness, is everything
that education in all its forms can provide - not as it's generally
understood, but as we understand it here: education in art, education in
... from the education of the body, from the most material progress, to
the spiritual education and progress through yoga; the whole spectrum,
everything that leads humanity towards its future realization. Money
should serve to augment that and to augment the material base for the
earth's progress, the best use of what the earth can give - its
intelligent utilization, not the utilization that wastes and loses
energies. The use that allows energies to be replenished. page 204 , Mother's Agenda , volume 1 , 4th Oct. - 1958 |
And it is always like that. I never ask for anything, but if by chance I say to myself, 'Hmm, wouldn't it be nice to have that, mountains of them pour in! So last year, I made an experiment, I told Nature, 'Listen, my little one, you say that you will collaborate, you told me I would never lack anything. Well then, to put it on a level of feelings, it would really be fun, it would give me joy (in the style of Krishna's joy), to have A LOT of money to do everything I feel like doing. It's not that I want to increase things for myself, no; you give me more than I need. But to have some fun, to be able to give freely, to do things freely, to spend freely - I am asking you to give me a crore of rupees' for my birthday! She didn't do a thing! Nothing, absolutely nothing: a complete refusal. Did she refuse or was she unable to? It may be that ... I always saw that money was under the control of an asuric force. (I am speaking of currency, 'cash'; I don't want to do business. When I try to do business, it generally succeeds very well, but I don't mean that. I am speaking of cash.) I never asked her that question. You see, this is how it happened: there's this Ganesh2 ... We had a meditation (this was more than thirty years ago) in the room where 'Prosperity'3 is now distributed. There were eight or ten of us, I believe. We used to make sentences with flowers; I arranged the flowers, and each one made a sentence with the different flowers I had put there. And one day when the subject of prosperity or wealth came up, I thought (they always say that Ganesh is the god of money, of fortune, of the world's wealth), I thought, 'Isn't this whole story of the god with an elephant trunk merely a lot of human imagination?' Thereupon, we meditated. And who should I see walk in and park himself in front of me but a living being, absolutely alive and luminous, with a trunk that long ... and smiling! So then, in my meditation, I said, 'Ah! So it's true that you exist!' - 'Of course I exist! And you may ask me for whatever you wish, from a monetary standpoint, of course, and I will give it to you!' page 175 , Mother's Agenda , volume 1 , 6th July - 1958 |
Money is a force and should not be an individual possession, no more than air, water or fire. To begin with, the abolishment of inheritance. ** Financial power is the materialization of a vital force turned into one of the greatest powers of action: the power to attract acquire, and utilize. Like all the other powers, it must be put at the service of the Divine. page 206 , Mother's Agenda , volume 1 , Undated - 1958 |
And I very well see (because I told Him several times, "You know, it would be great fun if I had plenty of money to play with"), so I see that He laughs, but He doesn't answer!... He teaches me to be able to laugh at this difficulty, to see the cashier send me his book in which the figures are growing astronomical ([laughing] it's by 50,000, 60,000, 80,000, 90,000), while the drawer is nearly empty! And He wants me to learn to laugh at it. The day when I can really laugh - laugh, enjoy myself - SINCERELY (not through effort - you can do anything you want through effort), when it makes me laugh spontaneously, I think it will change. Because otherwise it's impossible.... You see, we have fun with all sorts of things, there's no reason we couldn't have fun with more money than we need and do things in style! It will surely happen one day, but we should - we shouldn't be overwhelmed by the amount, and for that we shouldn't take money seriously. We shouldn't take money seriously. It's very hard nowadays, because all over the world people take money seriously, and that makes it very hard. Especially those who have money. Those who have money, how seriously they take it, oh, Lord! That's why it's difficult. We should be able to laugh - laugh, laugh frankly and sincerely, then it would be over. page 34 , Mother's Agenda , volume 4 , 14th Jan 1963 |
(Mother laughs) You know, there are lots of people who put money in their walls (they hide it with curtains or papers). There's a fortune, several crores [[One crore = ten millions. ]] of rupees: millions hidden away in walls! And then they worry themselves sick, they constantly fear a police raid; while if they gave it away, they would become quite respectable people! They wouldn't be scared anymore, they would have a peaceful life.... I have the possibility of saying that they are anonymous gifts, as in temples; so that's a way for them to turn honest, it would be all to their advantage, but they are more attached to their money than to their life! I said several times (I know some people who have money hidden in their walls), I let it be known through intermediaries that they only had to put it in a suitcase and come and leave it at my door. And I'll say it's an anonymous gift, that's all. And they will be free - not only free, but (smiling) with a blessing, because it's for the divine work.... No, they are prisoners, prisoners of their money. And the rather interesting thing is that (without any exception so far) all those who had an opportunity to give me money and didn't want to - who didn't want to because of their attachment to their money - lost it. It was taken from them, either by the government or a financial catastrophe or an industrial catastrophe, or simply stolen - lost. page 194 , Mother's Agenda , volume 7 , 7th Sep - 1966 |
About the financial situation, I have a little story to tell you, which took place on Sunday or Monday. I told you that the situation was quite ... to ordinary consciousnesses, it was critical. And there was a payment to be made. I don't remember the material details, but something had to be paid very urgently (I think it was to the workers: they were hungry and hadn't been given their money). And I needed a certain amount - which I didn't have: I had nothing. Then a sort of compassion came into me for those people who didn't have any money. I saw it wasn't right, and I couldn't do anything because there was none. So, in the evening while I was walking (I have an hour of meditation and quiet, of concentration), I presented it all like this (gesture upward), and with an almost childlike attitude I said to the Lord (He was there, of course, I was with Him) something that can be translated (I don't know, I don't speak but it could be translated into words) roughly like this: "I know You are with me and behind everything I do and everywhere, but I'd like to know whether what I do, the work I do, interests You or not! (Mother laughs) And if it does interest You, well, I must have this money." It came like that, in a quite childlike form, but very, very pure. And two days later, when it was necessary for the money to come, for me to have money, just as everything seemed quite impossible, Amrita suddenly came in, telling me, "Here, so-and-so has sent a cheque for such-and-such an amount." - Exactly the amount needed. And I think it was the first time that person had sent money. It was quite unexpected, absolutely a miracle - a miracle for children. The required amount, just at the required time, and absolutely unexpected. Then I had a good laugh. And I said to myself, "How silly we can be! We don't know that everything happens exactly as it has to." page 227 , Mother's Agenda , volume 7 , 5th Oct - 1966 |
The true attitude is this: money is a universal force meant to do the work on earth, the work needed to prepare the earth to receive the divine forces and manifest them, and it must come into the hands (the utilizing power, that is) of those who have the clearest vision, the most general and truest vision. page 102 , Mother's Agenda , volume 9 , 10th Apr - 1968 |
Money is not meant to make money,And I added this (it's already gone to Delhi): The men of finance and the businessmen have been offered the possibility to collaborate with the
Thus, the future will crush them with its irresis tible power.I wrote it in French before putting it into English, but in French, I spoke directly to the financiers: (translation) To financiers and businessmen You have been offered the possibility of collaborating with the future, but you have thought that the power of money is stronger than that of the future. And the future will crush you with its irresistible power.But that's a first version, I intend to rewrite it. In English, I put most of them refuse ..." The French is more combative.A little too combative. Some have accepted to collaborate, so I wouldn't like them to say I'm going on announcing catastrophes for them! Yes, obviously, it's a bit threatening.Yes, too threatening. We'll translate the English. Page 442-43 , Mother's Agenda , volume 10 , 22nd Nov - 1969 |