Worshipping Money - Osho World

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That day they worship money. The goddess of money is Laxmi. Laxmi is the wife of the Hindu god, Narayana, and of course a god's wife should be the goddess ...
Worshipping Money Osho challenges the concept of pleasing Laxmi

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n India, at the end of the monsoon there is a festival of lights, Diwali, when the whole country becomes very festive and every house has thousands of small earthen lamps decorating all the walls, balconies. The whole town becomes a fairyland, the whole country turns into a fairyland, with firecrackers and great rejoicing. That day they worship money. The goddess of money is Laxmi. Laxmi is the wife of the Hindu god, Narayana, and of course a god's wife should be the goddess of wealth. In fact, one of the Indian words for god, iswar, means "one who has all the wealth of the world." His wife is the goddess of wealth.

And on the night of the festival of lights they worship money. Before paper currency came into being, they used to make a pile of silver rupees and worship them. Now they put paper money and worship it. Before silver rupees there were golden rupees. The word rupee simply means gold; it comes from Sanskrit. It is an Indian word ... because in the beginning the coin was gold, pure gold, so the word rupia, which became in English, rupee, was meaningful. They used to worship gold, then came silver, then came paper currency. And they went on ... the question is

of worshipping money. I never participated in their thought to be valuable and that needs courage and worship. I simply hated the whole idea and I told them, guts. But what are you doing? If that man is right to "This is one of the ugliest things you can do. Money is renounce all this money, at least stop worshipping it. something to be used, not worshipped. On the one And you have to answer me; otherwise my hand, your religions teach that money is nothing but disagreement continues." dust. On the one hand, it is My mother would say to me, "On such days dust, on the other hand, it you should be out of the becomes a goddess. And house because you you cannot see your split don't know -- if the mind. goddess Laxmi "On the one hand, you becomes angry, we will praise a man as a sage if he Modern Coins: 500 BC all starve and be hungry renounces money; then he Outside China, the first coins and die poor." becomes synonymous with developed out of lumps of God because he renounced I said, "I have been money and everything. And doing this year after silver. They soon took the on the other hand, you year, sitting on my stool. familiar round form of today, worship money. Can you in I don't see that your some way help me to goddess can do and were stamped with understand? Is there not a anything. If she can, I various gods and emperors to clear-cut contradiction? challenge her -- let her, mark their authenticity. "If money is God's wife because at least that will then in the first place the give me some answers." These early coins first person who renounces And when they were all appeared in Lydia, which is God's wife is a criminal. In finished with their the first place why did he worship, I would go and part of present-day Turkey, possess God's wife? -- that kick their rupees, and but the techniques were seems to be absolutely spit on their rupees, and quickly copied and further illegal. He should be caught I would say, "Now this is and imprisoned. In the first what I wanted to do; refined by the Greek, place was he pretending to now let us see who is Persian, Macedonian, and be God's wife's husband?" rewarded." They could My father would say, not prevent me, although later the Roman empires. "You just keep quiet; at least they tried hard. These new coins were made let us finish our worship." I said, "You cannot from precious metals such as I would say, "No, first I prevent me. I will do want my answer." what I want to do, unless silver, bronze, and gold, And I had a big stool in you prove me wrong. which had more value. my house -- they used to And you call me in front use it as a ladder for taking of everybody saying that things up or down -- so I am in disagreement wherever they worshipped, about everything. I have in the main hall of the house, I would sit on that stool. to be in disagreement about everything, for the simple And they would say, "At least please come down. You reason that you go on doing things that any intelligent are sitting on that stool." person would see the contradiction in." I said, "No, I want my answers. I see so much Osho: From Darkness to Light stupidity in it, because I have seen you touching people's feet who have renounced money. Then you tell me that this man is great, a sage: he has kicked all that is If that man is right to renounce all this money, at least

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