Who is rich?

Richness is connected with life. A person is born without bringing wealth and leaves the world once he dies without taking anything - what he has acquired during his lifetime. There are different perceptions of richness and wealth by different segments of society. What is richness to adults or to haves and have nots?

For a child, it is not only comfort, and it is mother's emotional shelter, what is palatable is richness. If you give a child when it asks, say a toffee, a chocolate of just Rs.2 or Rs.5, she is happy and feels rich. When he/she goes to play home and nursery, it is food he/she eats away from mothers' care. You ask a kindergarten child after he/she returns from play home "What did you do in school?" he/she says, "I had food". The child when it goes to play with other children, when it has a fall, he/she comes back to the mother. "Mummy, I fell down!" What does the mother do? She asks, "Child, where are you hurt?" He or She shows the place which is hurting. Mother blows a few breaths on the spot and the child goes back to play. Was it money? No, the mothers' emotional touch which healed the child's injury. This is richness of humanity.

Consider the poor labourer. His richness is that he should get three square meals, clothes to cover himself and a comfortable place to sleep. It is only the middle class and the high-end society that they want money, wealth, comforts and what not. Who is rich? One who has earned lots of money? Or is it the one who says I do not want anymore, I have enough. Maybe you can say, he is rich.

Irrespective of all the facts, most of the people live on the periphery of tinsel town and many want to get into the comforts and wealth of tinsel town by committing a crime. Crime could be of any kind. The one who gets hungry and can eat well, one who can get good sleep is a rich person. Because there are many people in the world who don't have appetite or who can't enjoy good food because of medical reasons. There are many who don't get sleep, despite resorting to pills.

The person who has a sound mind and sound body is the richest person, because all the wealth in the world cannot buy good health. A person who does not take medicine for anything is the wealthiest person. A house without medicines is the riches home. In other words, it is the happiness, as money cannot buy happiness. Once my General Officer Commanding went to a seer and said "Reverend Guruji, I want happiness". The seer said "remove 'I', remove 'want' and you will have happiness."