Remember your first salary check? And the pride you felt to have earned something? How would you have felt if somebody had pointed out that it was wrong to like money? That the pride you were feeling was evil?A large part of this negative image has come about thanks to a misreading of the scriptures by the world's major organized religions, notably Christianity and Brahminical Hinduism . Wealth, claimed the pundits of yore, was a sin if it was not accumulated for a 'godly' purpose. Renunciation was the catchword, poverty the goal and austerity the norm of the day. If you did not practice these, you were a sinner, decreed to being either reborn as a lower animal if a Hindu, or to be barbecued in the fires of hell, if a Christian. There was, however, an easy way out. Just keep donating money to religious institutions and God would turn a blind eye to how you earn your wealth.
As Canadian Nathan Lester says: "Do you see a pattern here? Religion denounces money and then accepts 10 per cent of our earnings!"
But the scriptural truth was far from this bribe-God-be-happy image. Notes American financial consultant and inspirational author J. Grady Cash in his book Value-Based Money Management: "Money is not evil. The actual Biblical quote that leads to this common misconception is 'for the love of money is the root of all evil'. The ancient Aramaic text might more accurately be translated as 'for the lust after money is the root of all evil'. It's perfectly acceptable to want to make more money. Only when money is accumulated for its own sake or its accumulation hurts others does money become bad."Ditto in Hinduism. Artha, or wealth, is legitimate; money is indispensable in the present state of society. A man of the world without money is a failure; he cannot keep body and soul together. In fact, according to an injunction of Hinduism, first comes the body and next the practice of religion. Furthermore, money is needed to build hospitals, schools, museums, and educational institutions, which distinguish a civilized society from a primitive one. Money gives leisure, a key factor in the creation of culture. But money must be earned according to dharma; otherwise it debases a man by making him greedy and cruel.
As Canadian Nathan Lester says: "Do you see a pattern here? Religion denounces money and then accepts 10 per cent of our earnings!"
But the scriptural truth was far from this bribe-God-be-happy image. Notes American financial consultant and inspirational author J. Grady Cash in his book Value-Based Money Management: "Money is not evil. The actual Biblical quote that leads to this common misconception is 'for the love of money is the root of all evil'. The ancient Aramaic text might more accurately be translated as 'for the lust after money is the root of all evil'. It's perfectly acceptable to want to make more money. Only when money is accumulated for its own sake or its accumulation hurts others does money become bad."Ditto in Hinduism. Artha, or wealth, is legitimate; money is indispensable in the present state of society. A man of the world without money is a failure; he cannot keep body and soul together. In fact, according to an injunction of Hinduism, first comes the body and next the practice of religion. Furthermore, money is needed to build hospitals, schools, museums, and educational institutions, which distinguish a civilized society from a primitive one. Money gives leisure, a key factor in the creation of culture. But money must be earned according to dharma; otherwise it debases a man by making him greedy and cruel.
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