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D. Murali

ONE who pursues materialism goes into great darkness; one who pursues spirituality alone goes into even greater darkness. Yet one who pursues materialism and spirituality side like the two wings of a bird is happy in this world and the next. With this quote of Isopanishad begins Vikas Malkani's "The Yoga of Wealth", from Marshall Cavendish (www. timesone. com.sg).

Even if we were to keep aside the point about being happy in the next world, this book may still be of interest for the `5 spiritual keys to creating unlimited wealth' it offers, especially if you've ever wondered why some of us have money while others have peace of mind. Malkani assures that it is possible to have both, to wean you away from thinking of `de-linking of spirituality and abundance'; and he lets you walk the path of awareness without giving up "all the pleasures, wealth and abundance of this world".

Great masters say that all the wealth you will ever need already exists somewhere, he writes, and exhorts you to become the `magnet' to draw the wealth to you. To explain, Malkani recounts the story of how his master initiated a plan for an enormous hospital to be built in the mountains at tremendous financial cost. "Hearing the figures involved in its construction, which ran into millions of dollars, I began to have doubts and asked him, `This plan and project is well and good. It will help thousands and ease their pain and suffering. Your vision is beautiful, Master, but from where will all this money come?' Amazed at my question, he looked at me and simply replied, `From wherever it is now.'"

If wealth and abundance attract you, then they are already a part of your inner awareness, states the author. "If you come from a root of lacking, you will proceed in this manner. There will always be emptiness within you. But if your root is one of abundant awareness, you can nurture and nourish it and create the fruit of plenty."

The next lesson is to know that playing it safe is risky. The problem with most of us is that, deep in our hearts, we do not believe we can really succeed, observes Malkani. "One of the reasons people procrastinate and delay beginning something is because of the challenges, hassles and fear of the hardship that they image might emerge once they start." But problems are part of the deal, explains the author. "Trying to achieve something without the will to confront the problems is a bit like trying to go for a swim without getting wet."

It is not your position that matters but your disposition, is an insight to highlight the value of attitude. The Buddha speaks of levels of consciousness, including perception, sensation, and action/ reaction (such as, I'd add, buys and sells), but Malkani would ask, "Why do you always keep reacting? Why have you given up the power of initiating an action?"

Another diktat of the author is that you must act to make failure "an impossibility". Keep in mind that the future right at this moment is undecided, fluid and completely open, writes Malkani. "It will be decided based on your decision or indecision (nothing but another decision) in this moment." If you do not act on what you know and what you believe, there is going to be no change in your life, he reminds to emphasise that change happens only with action. Such action has to be total, where you go the extra mile of being enthusiastic about it. "You must believe that failure is not an option," declares the author and narrates a quote from Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back where the character Yoda, a teacher, says to his reluctant student Luke Skywalker, "Do. Or do not. There is no try." For, the irony is that fear of failure causes hesitancy and that hesitancy causes our worst fears to come true.

`Learn to live rich, not die rich' is another key. It is our attachment to mediocrity that keeps us away from true success and extraordinary abundance, according to Malkani. "It is our attachment to many things at one time that prevents us from achieving any one thing totally at any time." Our actions never really trouble us, it is the constant thinking about them and the subsequent worrying about endless possibilities that trouble us, you'd learn from the author. "If you have a big task ahead of you, actually doing the task will never bother you. However, thinking about it all the time will."

Relax and let go. But, when? Malkani answers: "As long as you feel you can do better or more, keep doing it. As long as you feel there is something you can still improve upon or have not thought about or done, keep doing it. And when you reach the point at which you feel you have done the best for that action, that you can't do anything else, let go. Simply detach."

Wise words that can also help make wealth!

**

BookValue@TheHindu.co.in

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