It is being said that there are only three ways by which a person can use his wealth. He can either store it and live a miserly life, or he can waste it in fulfilling his desires or on the other hand he can use it for the upliftment of his family as well as the society. The more important aspect is to use that money for proper and good causes. One must not starve himself just by thinking that I need to save more and more money and become a miser. A noble rich person is a man who uses his money for the benefits of other too. Moon is the planet which control our mind and soul. So a favorable moon can bring about a mind that is peaceful and a life full of harmony and happiness. Presented below is a story which tells us why money is not the only necessity of life and how can we use it for our betterment.
Once there was a treasurer named Sanmukh who inherited a huge amount of wealth. This man had all the defects possible in a person. He was lame, hunchbacked and he had a squint. He was a confirmed miser, never giving away any of his fortune to others, yet never enjoying it himself. Interestingly enough, however, for past seven generations his ancestors had been bountiful and were generous in charity. When this treasurer inherited the family riches, he broke that tradition and began hoarding his wealth.
One day, as he was returning from an audience with the king, he saw a weary peasant sitting on a bench and drinking a mug of cheap liquor with great gusto. The sight made the treasurer thirsty for a drink of liquor himself, but he thought, “If I drink, others will want to drink with me. That would mean a huge expense!” The more he tried to suppress his thirst, the stronger the craving grew. The effort to overcome his thirst made him as yellow as old cotton. He became thinner and thinner until the veins stood out on his emaciated frame. After a few days, still unable to forget about the liquor, he went into his room and lay down, hugging his bed. His wife came in, rubbed his back, and asked, “Husband, what is wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Perhaps the king is angry with you,” she suggested.
“No, he is not.” “Have your children or servants done anything to annoy you?” she queried.
“Not at all.”
“Well, then, do you have a craving for something?”
Because of his miserly nature, he still would not say a word.
“Speak, husband,” she pleaded. “Tell me what do you need?”
“Well,” he said slowly, “I do have a craving for one thing.”
“What is that, my husband?”
“I want a drink of liquor,” he whispered.
“Why didn’t you say so before?” she exclaimed with relief. “I’ll brew enough liquor to serve the whole town.”
“No!” he cried. “Don’t bother about other people.
Let them earn their own drink!”
“Well then, I’ll make just enough for our street.”
“How rich you are!”
“Then, just for our household.”
“How extravagant!”
“All right, only us and our children.”
“Why fuss about them?”
“Very well, let it be just enough for the two of us.
“Do you need any?” “Of course not! I’ll brew a little liquor only for you.”
“Wait! If you brew any liquor in the house, many people will see you. In fact, it’s out of the question to drink any here at all.” Producing one single penny, he sent a slave to buy a jar of liquor from the inn.
When the slave returned, Sanmukh ordered him to carry the liquor out of town to a remote thicket near the river. “Now leave me alone!”
Sanmukh commanded. After the slave had walked some distance away, the treasurer crawled into the thicket, filled his cup, and began drinking. At that moment, the treasurer’s own father, who had been reborn as, Shresta, the king of heavenly souls, due to his good deeds in his last life, happened to be wondering whether the tradition of generosity was still kept up in his house and became aware of his son’s outrageous behavior. He realized that his son had not only broken with the customary generosity of his family, but that he had also burned down the alms houses and beaten the poor to drive them away from his gate. Shresta saw that his son is unwilling to share even a drop of cheap liquor with anyone else, was sitting in a thicket drinking it. When he saw this, Shresta cried, “I must make my son see that deeds always have their consequences. I will make him charitable and worthy of rebirth in the realm of the Gods.” Instantly, Shresta disguised himself as his son, complete with his limp, hunchback, and squint, and entered the city. He went directly to the palace gate and asked to be announced to the king.
“Let him approach,” said the king. Shresta entered the king’s chamber and paid his respects.
“What brings you here at this unusual hour, my lord high treasurer?” asked the king.
“I have come here because I would like to add my wealth to your royal treasury.”
“No,” answered the king. “I have ample treasure. I have no need of yours.”
“Sir, if you will not take it, I will give it all away to others.”
“By all means, treasurer, do as you wish.”
“So be it, sir,” Shresta said. Then, bowing again to the king, he went to the treasurer’s house.
None of the servants could tell that he was not their real master. He sent for the porter and ordered, “If anybody resembling me should appear and claim to be master of this house, that person should be severely beaten and thrown out.” Then he went upstairs and sent for Sanmukh’s wife. When she arrived, he smiled and said, “My dear, let us be bountiful.”
When his wife, his children, and all the servants heard this, they thought, “We have never seen the treasurer in this frame of mind! He must have drunk a lot to have become so good-natured and generous.” His wife answered, “Be as charitable as you please, my husband.” “Send for the town crier,” Shresta ordered. “I want him to announce to all the citizens of the city that anybody who wants gold, silver, diamonds, pearls, or other gems should come to the house of the treasurer.” His wife obeyed him, and a large crowd of people carrying baskets and sacks soon gathered. Shresta instructed the servants to open the doors to the store rooms and announced to the people, “These are my gifts to you! Take what you like! Good luck to you!”
People filled their bags and carried away all the treasure they could manage. One farmer yoked two of the treasurer’s oxen to a beautiful cart, filled it with valuable things, and drove out of the city. As he rode along, humming a tune in praise of the treasurer, he happened to pass near the thicket where the treasurer was hiding. “May you live to be a hundred, my god Sanmukh.” sang the farmer. “What you have done for me this day will enable me to live without ever toiling again.
Who owned these oxen? You did! Who gave me this cart? You did! Who gave me the wealth in the cart? Again it was you! Neither my father nor my mother gave me any of this. No, it came solely from you, my lord.”
These words chilled the treasurer to the bone. “Why is this fellow mentioning my name?”
he wondered to himself. “Has the king been giving away my wealth?” He peeped out of the thicket and immediately recognized his own cart and oxen. Scrambling out of the bushes as fast as he could, he grabbed the oxen by their nose rings and cried, “Stop! These oxen belong to me!”
The farmer leaped from the cart and began beating the intruder. “You rascal!” he shouted. “This is none of your business. Sanmukh the treasurer is giving his wealth away to the city.” He knocked the treasurer down, climbed back on the cart, and started to drive away. Shaking with anger, the treasurer picked himself up, hurried after the cart, and seized hold of the oxen again. Once more the farmer jumped down, grabbed the treasurer by the hair, and beat him severely. Then he got back on the cart and rumbled off.
Getting beaten up badly by the person, the treasurer hurried home. When he arrived, he saw the people carrying away his treasure. “What are you doing?”, he shouted. “How dare you do this?” He seized first one man then another, but every man he grabbed knocked him down.
Bruised and bleeding, he tried to go into his own house, claiming that he was Sanmukh, but the safety guards stopped him. “You rascal!” they cried.
“Where do you think you are going?” Following orders, they beat him with bamboo staves, took him by the neck, and threw him down the steps. “Only the king can help me now,” groaned the treasurer, and he dragged himself to the palace.
“Sir!” he cried. “Why have you plundered me like this?” “I haven’t plundered you,” said the king. “You yourself first offered me your wealth.
Then you yourself offered your property to the citizens of the town.” “Sir, I never did such a thing! Your majesty knows how careful I am about money.
You know I would never give away so much as the tiniest drop of oil. May it please your majesty to send for the person who has squandered my riches Please interrogate him about this matter.”
The king ordered his guards to bring the treasurer, and they returned with Shresta. The two treasurers were so exactly alike that neither the king nor anyone else in the court could tell which one was the real treasurer. “Sir!” pleaded the treasurer. “I am the treasurer! This is an imposter!” “My dear sir,” replied the king. “I really can’t say which one of you is the real treasurer. Is there anybody who can distinguish for certain between the two of you?”
“Yes, sir,” answered the treasurer, “my wife can.” The king sent for the treasurer’s wife and asked her which one of the two was her husband. She smiled at Shresta and went to stand beside him.
When the treasurer’s children and servants were brought and asked the same question, they all answered that Shresta was the real treasurer. Suddenly, the treasurer remembered that he had a wart on the top of his head, hidden under his hair, known only to his barber. As a last resort, he asked that his barber be called. The barber came and was asked if he could distinguish the real treasurer from the false.
“Of course, I can tell, sir,” he said, “if I may examine their heads.” “By all means, look at both their heads,” ordered the king. The barber examined the treasurer’s head and found the wart.
As he started to examine Shresta’s head, the great sage quickly caused a wart to appear on his own so that the barber exclaimed, “Your Majesty, both squint, both limp, and both are hunchbacks, too! Both have warts in exactly the same place on their heads! Even I cannot tell which one is the real!”
When the treasurer heard this, he realized that his last hope was gone, and he began to quake at the loss of his beloved riches. Overpowered by his emotions, he collapsed senseless on the floor. Shresta resumed his divine form and rose into the air. “O king, I am not Sanmukh,” he announced. “I am Shresta!” The king’s courtiers quickly splashed water on Sanmukh’s face to revive him. As soon as he had recovered his wits, the treasurer staggered to his feet and bowed before Shresta.
“Sanmukh!” Shresta shouted. “That wealth was mine, not yours. I was your father. In my lifetime I enjoyed to donate my wealth. Because of my charity, I was reborn in this great form. But you, foolish man, are not walking on my footsteps. You have become a terrible miser. You burnt my alms houses to the ground and drove away the poor. You are getting no enjoyment from your wealth; nor is it benefitting any other human being. Your treasury is like a pool haunted by demons, from which no one can satisfy his thirst. You have lost all your brains and are a source of utter sins.
“You need to get into the holy feet of a Guru and seek His guidance. Then only you will gain great merit. If you do not, I will take away everything you have, and I will split your head with my thunderbolt.” When Sanmukh heard about his misdeeds, he shook with fear and cried out, “From now on I will donate my wealth and help others.”
True to his words, Sanmukh got into the holy feet of a great Guru who helped him not only to regain his riches but also to become graceful in his life. The Guru guided him to perform the sadhana of Moon so that he can energize the emotional part of a human being which helped him to become diligent in charity and performed many good works. This small story teaches us that it is not only important to become rich in life. It is a great opportunity to not only gain wealth but also to gain a peaceful and harmonious life on the occasion of this Lunar eclipse which is falling on Holi.
Due to this reason only, Gurudev is granting this Chandra Grahan Ashta Lakshmi Diksha on the occasion of this Lunar eclipse so that not only can we attain wealth in life, but also gain the knowledge of using the wealth correctly in life. What is the use of those riches if it is spent in just amusement, gambling, liquor or for the fulfillment of our bad habits.
It is mandatory to obtain Guru Diksha from Revered Gurudev before performing any Sadhana or taking any other Diksha. Please contact Kailash Siddhashram, Jodhpur through Email , Whatsapp, Phone or Submit Request to obtain consecrated-energized and mantra-sanctified Sadhana material and further guidance,