Prosperity is the way of Spirituality

Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity is referred in Hindu mythology as the better half of God Vishnu - the Almighty Preserver, Protector and Eternal Guardian of the Universe. Lord Bishnu (Narayan) would not have been able to run the world without Lakshmi. You will always find the idols of Narayan and Lakshmi both enshrined in the temples. So what this depiction teaches us is that - the worship of God is incomplete without Lakshmi. We must understand here that worshiping of God is not confined to rituals in the temples with devotional prayers, etc. More essential is to worship His Creation by making the world better and happier, by offering benevolent service and help to fellow beings, by protecting the other life forms and the orderly system of Nature. Our efforts in this regard would mostly be worldly acts, for which we would need potential support and resources, including money.

The Almighty certainly would not like to see His crown prince, the human being, deprived of anything. He has endowed the human body and mind with marvelous faculties and has provided abundance of resources in the manifested Nature so that everyone could live with dignity and proceed on the path of evolution. A believer of God must therefore be a believer of his own potentials and make the best use of these to be self-dependent and prosperous.

Daridrata (poverty because of lethargy, wrong attitude, negativity and or bad habits, etc) is a spiritual defect. Not having money or not making any effort for earning or managing wealth is in no manner a sign of austerity or sacrifice. Austerity and sacrifice in the truest sense are linked with detachment from selfish possession and passion for lavish comforts. In fact, earning and expanding wealth by augmenting the necessary talents and by using proper means, and spending it righteously for good purposes is highly regarded as part of dignity of human life. Spiritual attitude nurtures this dignity. Orison Modern, the author of celebrity book "Peace, Power and Plenty" comments:" Poor are those who lack self-confidence and who have no faith (in the good that dwells in the world)". He further writes "People can alter their circumstances if they believe in and know their own powers. Every one can succeed in prosperous progress through determination, courage and unflinching hard work to attain the envisaged goals".

Wealth is a grace of Goddess Lakshmi and hence a boon for those who acquire it by sincere use of their talents and diligence without compromising their integrity. It then bestows all round prosperity. On the contrary, it would sooner or later invite hoards of problems and worries if the motive or mode of earning was immoral or was driven by avarice. A greedy and stingy fellow, even if he was gifted a grand treasure, would never be able to enjoy it. Unrestrained cravings for wealth would, sometime or the other, divert one from the path of honesty and drag him into the mire of corruption and debauching addictions. The attractions for glamour and luxury and passions for sensual pleasures are mutually catalyzing. They also fuel infatuating evils like gambling, wine and carnal lust. It is wealth entrapped in this apparently subtle but vicious cycle of avarice and selfish attachments that is loudly criticized in the teachings of spirituality, as it is the root of perversion, decline and fall of spiritual values and human glory.