Acharya Prashant on Sri Ramakrishna: How much money does one really need?
- 4 years ago
Video Information: Acharya Prashant speaking at 32nd Advait Learning Camp, Jim Corbett, on 28th May 2017.
Quote: "One day a Marwari gentleman went to Sri Ramakrishna and asked him for permission to present him with some thousands of rupees. But the Master had nothing but a stern refusal for this well-meant offer.
He said, “I shall have nothing to do with your money; for if I accept it, my mind would always be dwelling on it.” The gentleman then proposed to invest the amount in the name of one of Sri Ramakrishna’s relatives to be used by him for the Master’s service. To this the Master replied, “No, it would be double-
dealing. Moreover, it would always be in my mind that I am keeping my money with so-and-so.” But the Marwari still persisted in his proposal, quoting one of Sri Ramakrishna’s own sayings, “If the mind is like
oil, it will float even upon an ocean of ‘woman and gold.’ At this the Master retorted: “That is true indeed; but if the oil floats on water for a considerable length of time, it becomes putrefied. In the same way, even if the mind were only to float over the ocean of ‘woman and gold’ the continuous contact of the latter for a long period would surely tend to vitiate the mind and make it give out an evil odour.”
~ Sri Ramakrishna
Quote: "One day a Marwari gentleman went to Sri Ramakrishna and asked him for permission to present him with some thousands of rupees. But the Master had nothing but a stern refusal for this well-meant offer.
He said, “I shall have nothing to do with your money; for if I accept it, my mind would always be dwelling on it.” The gentleman then proposed to invest the amount in the name of one of Sri Ramakrishna’s relatives to be used by him for the Master’s service. To this the Master replied, “No, it would be double-
dealing. Moreover, it would always be in my mind that I am keeping my money with so-and-so.” But the Marwari still persisted in his proposal, quoting one of Sri Ramakrishna’s own sayings, “If the mind is like
oil, it will float even upon an ocean of ‘woman and gold.’ At this the Master retorted: “That is true indeed; but if the oil floats on water for a considerable length of time, it becomes putrefied. In the same way, even if the mind were only to float over the ocean of ‘woman and gold’ the continuous contact of the latter for a long period would surely tend to vitiate the mind and make it give out an evil odour.”
~ Sri Ramakrishna