INSIGHT | COLUMNS & GUIDANCE Putting Money Back into the Hands of the Spiritual People by Sri Siva In general, spiritual people shy away from money -- and this is a historic truth. Examine a statement like the following: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. You go to church/temple/mosque and all of a sudden you become very grave. You seem to think that God might love long faces, because your concept of God is that he is a killjoy and a peeping Tom. It is time that spiritual people change their negative attitude towards money and material life. My commitment in this lifetime is to put money and power back into the hands of the spiritual people. Currently, money is in the wrong hands of people who are totally unconscious. These rich people are self-centered, egocentric and want to grow richer and richer at any cost. They don't even realize that they have more money than they could possibly spend in this lifetime. They have no sympathy for the 3 billion human beings who go to bed hungry. There is no willingness to share their wealth. Conversely, the poor and the spiritual people want to share whatever they have with those who are in need. Unfortunately, because these people don't have money, their sympathy has very little impact. Fundamentally, spiritual people should come out of the closet and become more active. It is important for them to understand that if you meditate for longer hours and spend a lot of time reflecting on God, over a period of time you will become otherworldly. In some cases, it may even create depression and a lack of interest in being active. It is important to get rid of the concepts that this world is an illusion and that it is important to only focus attention on God rather than the world. You must realize that the world with all its complexity and silliness is still the creation of god. When you are having a good meal, know that you are connecting with God. To run away from the world is to run away from God. In the year 2001, I will be putting out a lot of my energy to work with spiritual people. The world will not see any substantial progress unless money and power change hands. From time immemorial, money has always remained in the hands of the wrong people. No more can we allow this to happen. Already the world has suffered. Let us bring all the spiritual people together and work towards this goal. During the last few years, Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra have done important work in this area. I congratulate both of them for their extraordinary work. I gave the "Ah" meditation particularly to Wayne Dyer. It is my desire to start a global meditation group at specific times of the day to bring in the new world order. The group will use the Internet to facilitate the change of power. Sri Siva, born in Tamil Nadu, India, is the first scholar-mystic from the Tamil Siddha tradition to travel to the West. Sri Siva studied with gurus in the Himalayas and South India. He holds two master's degrees in literature from India and a doctorate in religion from the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught meditation courses. As the Siddha mantras have never been published, the mystical teachings can only be passed on by word of mouth. The first individual to be given permission to teach these meditations was Wayne Dyer. Sri Siva, who remained in silence for a long period, is now coming forth to teach this powerful wisdom himself. Copyright © 2001 Sri Siva