Not long ago, Silicon Valley Bank, a large American bank, with over Two Hundred and Nine Billion Dollars in assets experienced a meltdown situation, where depositors tried to withdraw forty two billion dollars in one day. This is called a “run on the bank” and resulted in the bank collapsing.
Why did the depositors of the bank scramble to withdraw their money so quickly? Banks take your money, and then they try to invest it, keeping some of your money in cash, but most of it locked away in various types of investments, making them (usually) handsome returns. The amount of money they keep as cash, divided by the amount of money they invest, is called a “liquidity ratio”. And that liquidity ratio is strictly regulated. Despite this regulation, clearly, sometimes, the bank may just not have enough money to pay out!
The external reason of why Silicon Valley Bank crashed is because they had their money invested in bonds, which were dropping in value as interest rates rose. So, the bank was selling their bonds at a loss, and they were short by a couple billion dollars. The news got out and it was mayhem after.
Now, to put all that into perspective you know how much US$209B is? That is more than the total wealth of 103 different countries… Belarus, Jordan, Serbia, Slovenia, 103 of them. And it is more than the collective wealth of the world’s 44 poorest countries.
Think about it. Silicon Valley Bank had more wealth than 44 countries put together!
Ultimately the bank was bailed out by the US Government and purchased by another bank, but otherwise depositors would have lost a lot of money.
In this particular case, the US taxpayers were left holding the bill for the collapsed bank.
In general, people assume that such things, like banks, governments, police, armies, weapons, communities, families, wealth, and our own bodies and minds can be actually relied upon. But all of them are fallible soldiers, liable to fail at any moment without notice.
If a bank with that much wealth can collapse from one day to the next, what to speak of your wealth? Surely you don’t have US$209B to your name at a bank?
Where is your wealth? We read the Alexander the Great left all his material wealth behind. But even if death is not about to get you in the next little while, your wealth is not safe.
Neither will your wealth, nor your family, nor your community, society, country, your own personal strength or intelligence save you!
देहापत्यकलत्रादिष्वात्मसैन्येष्वसत्स्वपि ।
तेषां प्रमत्तो निधनं पश्यन्नपि न पश्यति ॥ ४ ॥dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv
ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api
teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ
paśyann api na paśyatiPersons devoid of ātma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.
https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/1/4/
Further, on a related note, Srila Prabhupada writes this…
Such persons complacently believe that their nations, communities or families can protect them, unaware that all such fallible soldiers will be destroyed in due course of time.
https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/6/3/28/ purport
In other words, nothing that we have anywhere in this world is safe.
So how to protect what is ours?
There is only one way.
In general, only that which we give away, we get to keep.
Give away money? You will get it back in your future lifetimes. Give love? You will receive much love. What you have today is a sum total of what you have given away in the past.
What do I mean by that? That the credit for giving something away is what we take with us. As in the case of Alexander the great, he left his wealth behind upon death, but the results of his activities – all his conquests – the karmic reactions for so many killed, hurt, etc., that he took with him to suffer afterwards. For every death, he had to suffer a death, for every maiming, he had to be maimed himself, for every bit of gold stolen from others, he had to be robbed himself, and so on.
What is your real wealth, anyways?
यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं तत: ।
yaṁ labdhvā cāparaṁ lābhaṁ
manyate nādhikaṁ tataḥupon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain
BG 6.22
What is it that will satisfy you so much that you will think there is no greater gain? It cannot be money or any other possession, because with money, no matter how much someone has, they are never fully satisfied by it. It cannot be posessions, because the satisfaction one gets from one’s possessions is a continuous downward trend. It cannot be sensual experiences, because when one has some sensual pleasure, they only hanker for more.
There must be something more, something on a completely different dimension!
What is that greatest wealth?
It is the wealth of the soul, which is spiritual in nature. Not material.
The example that comes to mind is that of the six Goswamis of Vrindavan. When Rupa Goswami retired, his wealth equalled a boat full of gold coins. The Goswamis were exalted in every respect, born in rich, aristocratic families, hobnobbing with the rich and famous, and yet, it is said about them…
tyaktva turnam asesha-mandala-pati-srenim sada tuccha-vat
who kicked off all association of aristocracy as insignificant
https://iskcondesiretree.com/page/shad-goswamy-ashtakam
Why is that? Who gives up something as insignificant?
Only one who finds something greater!
In the same song, Srinivas Acharya sings:
gopi-bhava-rasamritabdhi-lahari-kallola-magnau muhur
but they are always merged in the ecstatic ocean of the gopis’ love for Krishna and bathe always and repeatedly in the waves of that ocean
https://iskcondesiretree.com/page/shad-goswamy-ashtakam
So there you go, any wealth in any bank or locker or any kind of wealth we rely upon in the material world, whether it be our family, society, community, country, or any institution… we will have to leave it all behind, insurmountable time will take it all away.
What you will keep eternally is this:
नेहाभिक्रमनाशोऽस्ति प्रत्यवायो न विद्यते ।
स्वल्पमप्यस्य धर्मस्य त्रायते महतो भयात् ॥ ४० ॥nehābhikrama-nāśo ’sti
pratyavāyo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trāyate mahato bhayātIn this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.
https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/2/40/
Your spiritual advancement is your only wealth!
My dear spirit soul, please cultivate your spiritual wealth. Don’t waste a single moment! Act now. Ask me how!
Freedom through Genuine Spiritual Progress 