Money Isn’t the Enemy
Material things are not bad on the spiritual path, so if you have earned wealth it is fine to spend it on yourself, while keeping some space to use part of it to create impact in the world.
Asked what drives him, Dandapani names two things: his own unfoldment, and creating impact by giving people practical tools that uplift human consciousness. He then takes on the belief that material things are bad on the spiritual path, describing his own taste for hand-carved furniture from India, and asks you to enjoy what you have earned while leaving room to do good with it.
What this talk covers
- What drives him is his own personal unfoldment and enlightenment, and creating impact by sharing practical tools people can actually implement.
- The only way to create positive change in the world is by uplifting human consciousness, because a higher-minded individual makes decisions that benefit everybody.
- Profit is for the purpose of impact, because every good deed in the world, from feeding orphans to developing medicine, is done with money.
- One of the big misconceptions on the spiritual path is that material things are bad, and his guru taught him they are not; you may feel uplifted by a Ferrari, but you probably do not need five.
- If you have worked hard for decades and earned wealth, it is okay to spend it on yourself, and it is also worth keeping space to create impact, because we can do both.
Not everybody gets custom made doors in India and shipped halfway across the world, but that's my McLaren.Dandapani
Questions
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He says one of the big misconceptions on the spiritual path is that material things are bad, and his guru taught him they are not. The real question is how much you need. You might enjoy one Ferrari, but you probably do not need five.
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If you have worked hard over decades and earned wealth, he says it is okay to spend that wealth on yourself, even if the purchase feels trivial to you. He asks you to also keep some space to take part of it and create impact in the world.
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Furniture. He lives on a 33 acre estate in Costa Rica, is not a car or clothing person, and had his doors, beds, coffee table and vanities designed by him and hand carved in India, then shipped over in a container.
Transcript
630 words · 3:31
I think two things. One is my own personal unfoldment and enlightenment. And the other thing is creating an impact in the world through sharing very practical tools and teachings
that people can actually implement in their life, create traction, and make change. Because I feel the only way we can create positive change in the world is by uplifting human consciousness.
A low consciousness person cannot make decisions that result in positive outcomes for everyone. A higher-minded individual can make decisions that result in positive outcomes
that impact everybody positively. So what do you do? You have to lift the consciousness up. So part of my drive is to uplift human consciousness
by giving them tools and steps that they can methodically become more and more enlightened, so to speak, or more and more mature. And one of my former clients now, close friend,
has the saying, profit is for the purpose of impact. Every good deed in this world is created with money, whether it's feeding orphans or helping poor people, whatever it may be,
furthering the development of medicine to cure diseases, it's all done with money. So the question I think is, what is the ultimate purpose?
And it's okay to have a boat or McLaren or this or that. Do I need five rolls rice? Or can I just be satisfied with one? And I think one of the big misconceptions
on the spiritual path is that material things are bad. And my guru taught me, it's not. You never stand next to a Ferrari and go like this is a very uplifting experience.
No, you feel uplifted by it, but do you need five Ferraris? Probably not. Maybe you can have one and enjoy if you're a car lover having a Ferrari
and then take that wealth and see what can you do with that wealth in service of others and also the world in general, the environment and everything.
You do you find, do you like the finer things in life? I do, I do. I very much so. I live on a 33 acre estate here in Costa Rica.
One of my finer things are very different. I'm not a big car person, you know, or things like that or clothing person, but I love furniture.
All my doors are hand carved in India that I designed and shipped over here. Your door? Yeah, the doors for my bedroom,
door, my front door. You'll have to send me some pictures of your doors. Sincerely, I mean that I want to see them. Yeah, no. So, you know, I got them, I designed them and I got them carved handmade in India, my beds, my coffee table, the vanities, everything is custom made in India and then shipped over here in a container. So do I like to find things?
Yeah, I mean, not everybody gets custom made doors in India and shipped halfway across the world, but that's my McLaren. That's my, you know, and so I'm very clear what it is I want, you know, that brings me upliftment, that brings me joy, and it's okay to have that.
There's nothing wrong. You know, if you've worked hard, and for all the entrepreneurs listening, if you've worked your butt off over decades, and you've earned good money, and you've exited or whatever it is you've earned, you have wealth, it's okay to spend that wealth on you.
And even if it, in your mind, feels trivial, it's fine, you earned it. And all I would say is that keep some space in your mind to potentially take some of that wealth and also create impact in the world. We can do both.
It doesn't have to be one or the other.