Page 40 - Sri Canakya Niti

1.7 Śrī Cāṇakya-nīti

Commentary: Here Cāṇakya Paṇḍita calls Lakṣmī, the goddess of
wealth, by her name Calitā (she who is always moving). Lakṣmī is
also called Cañcalā (unsteady), as Cāṇakya Paṇḍita will later write in
5.20. Wealth, which represents her in this world, never stops moving
from one hand to the next. Whenever a clever man acquires wealth,
others lay schemes for its plunder. Banks through exorbitant interest
rates, governments through excessive taxation, thieves through
extortion and common citizens through lawsuits all conspire to reduce
a rich man’s fortune to zero. Viṣṇuśarmā laments in his Pañca-tantra,
“Coming and going, money is nothing but a headache.”

Lakṣmī is the wife of Lord Viṣṇu and His association alone is the
source of her happiness. Therefore, the means to keep the goddess
who governs riches pleased is to see that at least some portion of one’s
wealth is engaged in the service of Lord Viṣṇu. There is a modern
legend in India about the wealthy Birla family. It is said that three
or four generations ago, the grandsire of this family was blessed by
a sādhu. The sage told him that his future generations would remain
wealthy provided whatever they earned was used in the service of the
Lord. Birla was instructed to “never allow the mason’s trowel to rest.”

Today for the sake of public good, as well as their own, the Birla family
has constructed many beautiful temples to Lord Viṣṇu throughout

India. We have visited several of the magnificent temples built by
the Birlas including: the Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa Mandir in Delhi, the Gītā
Mandir at Kurukṣetra, the Veṅkaṭeśvara Mandir at Hyderabad and the
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Mandir on the Mathura-Vrindavan Road. Neither has the
trowel rested.

Neither wealth nor personal property are ours to hoard ultimately,
so to avoid a miser’s fate in Naraka, one’s accumulated assets must
be engaged for the pleasure and service of the almighty Viṣṇu. Then
Calitā may kindly condescend to make her address our very home
once we have dedicated everything to her Lord Mādhava (the dhava
or “husband” of mā the “goddess of fortune”).

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