Inner wealth

When I look into the soul of man I see only darkness; when I ponder his existence I find nothing but death. Man is alive but has no concept of life at all. Life has become a burden to him. Without beauty, peace, happiness and illumination, life is life in name only. Have we totally forgotten how to live? The animals, birds, and even the plants seem to exist in greater harmony with each other than man is able to do. Some say the prosperity of mankind is increasing by leaps and bounds. God save us from this kind of prosperity! This is not prosperity, it is just a cover-up for our poverty for our weaknesses. Prosperity and power are ways to escape from one’s self. It fills my heart with sorrow and pain when I see the inner poverty and anguish that lies beneath the mantle of this so-called prosperity. Anyone who gives this the slightest thought will easily realize that material affluence is only a way to conceal inner poverty. Those who suffer from a sense of inferiority are the ones who hanker after position and wealth. To escape from his inner being, form what he really is, a man tries to project another being, another personality on the outside. What a man pretends to be outwardly is generally the opposite of what he is really like. This is why the proud appear to be humble, the sensual become celibate, the poor seek affluence and the wealthy talk of renunciation. It is foolishness to say the prosperity of mankind has increased; the reverse is what has actually happened. The richer a man becomes on the outside, the poorer he becomes on the inside. In his race for outer riches he totally forgets about the attainment of inner wealth. A man really grows, really develops when his consciousness rises to the heights of beauty, harmony and truth. I would like to know whether you are satisfied with material things or whether you want to develop your consciousness. The man who is satisfied with he outside world will always be basically unhappy. This kind of life is simply one of convenience. Convenience is only the absence of trouble, whereas real satisfaction is the attainment of happiness.

Osho