The inner wealth⁴

Faith: If the seeker has faith in himself, then he is safe. If the same seeker has faith in God, then the seeker is not only safe but also progressive. When the seeker has faith in himself, he does not permit undivine thoughts to grow in his life or in his being. If he notices some undivine thoughts, he just uproots the tree that has produced these undivine thought-fruits. When he has faith in himself, he allows only the good thoughts to enter into him, and he eventually grows a tree that produces only good thought-fruits, divine thought-fruits.

Love: Love is self-giving. When the seeker gives of himself, what he has and what he is, then God also gives that particular seeker what He has and what He is. What the seeker has is a cry, and what the seeker is is a promise. What God has is a smile, and what God is is an assurance. When the seeker cries, God immediately gives him a smile. When the seeker makes a promise, God assures the seeker that he will be able to fulfil that promise.

Oneness: Oneness is composed of oldness, sweetness and newness. Sweetness, when it is intensified, becomes fondness. Sweetness is the hyphen or connecting link between oldness and newness. Oldness is something meaningful and fruitful and, at the same time, lasting. It is a meaningful and fruitful thing which has a lasting breath. Oldness embodies meaningfulness. It is something that has meaning and is worth keeping, something that encourages us to go forward, rather than stay where we are. Newness is something inspiring and aspiring, illumining and fulfilling. Newness embodies inspiration, aspiration, illumination and fulfilment, continuous fulfilment.

The human or finite wealth is one thing, and the divine or infinite Wealth is something entirely different. The human or finite wealth wants to be appreciated, admired and adored, and nothing else. If we get appreciation from humanity, if we get admiration from humanity, if we get adoration from humanity, then we feel that we do not need anything else in our life. We feel that we have got all the world's wealth. This wealth that we feel we have is the human wealth or the finite wealth.

The divine or infinite Wealth starts with God's Compassion. It progresses until it has achieved, first, a free access to His inner Existence, then a most complete intimacy or oneness with His inner Will and finally, ecstasy or delight, which is the universal and transcendental Reality which God Himself is. Compassion, free access to God's inner Existence, intimacy with His Will and divine delight — these make up the true divine Wealth.

Inside this divine Wealth, three things abide: aspiration, perfection and satisfaction. Aspiration means the eagerness to grow in whichever way the Supreme wants the seeker to grow. Perfection means to please God in His own Way. Satisfaction means to see the inner beauty in aspiration and transcending perfection. Aspiration itself is beauty, and perfection itself is beauty. This beauty is not the physical beauty, which is skin deep, but the beauty of infinite Light and infinite Delight. This beauty is itself nothing but the divine Wealth.

Before one enters into the spiritual life, one wants only the mundane, finite and human wealth: appreciation, admiration and adoration. When one enters deeply into the spiritual life, one aspires only for the infinite, divine Wealth. But when one is a beginner in the spiritual life, one tries to have both, which is simply impossible. You cannot have both night and day. Either you have to be in day or you have to be in night. For one fleeting second, because of his sincerity and inner cry, the beginner tries to get the divine Wealth, and then for twenty-three hours and fifty-nine seconds the same seeker will cry for human wealth. As the seeker goes farther and makes more progress in his inner life through his intense prayer and soulful meditation, gradually he will cry more and more for the inner wealth.

When the seeker reaches the first-class level, the inner hurdles become higher and more difficult — almost insurmountable. But those few seekers who are going to make continuous progress in the inner life will see that the desire for human wealth will fade away. For they see that human wealth itself will not last; it is bound to fade away. But divine Wealth, even in infinitesimal measure, is bound to last forever.

The Supreme tells the inmost class of seekers, "If you want Me as the Infinite, if you want Me as the Eternal, if you want Me as the Immortal, if you want Me only in your soul, in your heart, in your mind, in your vital, in your body, in your earth-consciousness and in your Heaven-consciousness, then My infinite Wealth alone will be of value to you. Otherwise, the worldly appreciation, the worldly wealth, will satisfy you, but this satisfaction will last only for a fleeting second.

Always we have to make a choice between human wealth and divine Wealth. If we care for the inner wealth, then our life will be meaningful, soulful and fruitful. At every moment in our life we will see a bridge between Heaven and earth. Not Heaven and Hell, mind you! I am saying Heaven and earth. Earth's cry, which is so sweet, runs across a bridge and reaches Heaven's smile. And Heaven's smile, which is so beautiful, runs across a bridge and touches earth's cry. A continuous divine game goes on in the seeker's life when the seeker feels the conscious need for the inner wealth.

I have offered the world my creative wealth in many forms. I have written many books, painted many paintings, composed many songs, participated in many sports. I have become many in one form. But it is only my inner wealth, my love of God, that will forever remain in the earth-consciousness. Other things down the sweep of centuries will be washed away. Everybody will say, "Yes, he was a writer, he was a poet, he was a musician," and so on. But these things, all the outer things that I have given to the world, will not immortalise me. So many things I have done which people have appreciated and admired. But their appreciation and admiration will not last, as my outer creation will not last. But I as the eternal creator, in silence becoming and transcending, will last - not what I have given, but what I am. And what I am is Eternity's Love, Infinity's Love, Immortality's Love. When the seekers feel the need for Infinity's, Eternity's and Immortality's Love, that will be the time for them to cry and try to grow into the inner wealth which I am.

The outer wealth, the human wealth, will not last. Nothing will remain of the finite wealth. Death will level it. But death does not dare to touch the inner wealth, which is God's Compassion, free access to Him, intimacy with His Will, ecstasy or delight, aspiration, perfection and satisfaction: your satisfaction in Him and His Satisfaction in you. If you are satisfied with God and God is satisfied with you, then you are singing and playing with Infinity's Beauty and dancing in Eternity's Garden at the foot of Immortality's Tree.