In India, money is known as Lakshmi, the Goddess of Fortune. She is the feminine counterpart of Vishnu (Narayan). Lakshmi's nature is to serve Her Beloved Lord. Nowadays all over the world, this notion of money serving God has largely disappeared. The dominent attitude is that is that money has to be earned and possessed for ourselves. We work hard for money, only to serve our purposes. Nations strive to get wealth and increase their power while common folks struggle to get by. Others save to buy a house or fulfill any dream money can buy. If anyone spends his wealth to build a place of worship, many will consider it wasted. "Alas! If only I'd had that money, I'd put it to good use." Philanthropists would help the poor and spend something to improve social justice or public service. They say service to man is service to God. Self-centered people use their wealth to increase their prestige or invest in a gambling house to comfort their fortune. In short, who would spend money on a God who, if He exsits, doesn't have needs like we do?

In America having lots of money isn't frowned upon like it is in Europe. The old idea is that wealth is a god-given reward to those who deserve it.  The pious will give back a token penny to their church, sometimes more. Hindu billionaires, on the other hand, continue to worship their Goddess of fortune by building superb temples to Lakshmi-Narayan, schools and hospitals, accross the Indian subcontinent.

Let’s now consider a spiritual vision that is bound to provoke some reaction. Lakshmi being the eternal spouse of Vishnu is no coincidence. As the source of the ten principal divine incarnations of Vedic lore, Vishnu owns all the wealth in the universe, which Lakshmi personifies. Her very essence is service to Her Lord. In deference to the souls’ free-will, however, it is for everyone to decide how to use lakshmi (also the sanskrit for money), including for one’s self-centered enjoyment. But there you have it ---using lakshmi in our own service amounts to taking God’s position. Love of money becomes an appropriation of what does not belong to us. Seen in this way, you can imagine how serious an offence abusing the Goddess might be. No wonder that love of money is said to be “the root of all evil.” This is reminiscent of the Arthurian legend where Perceval, in quest of the Holy Grail, must ask the Fisherking who’s been wounded in the groin a crucial question: Who does the Grail serve? The king’s recovery depends on it: “The Grail serves God”; or else he will remain impotent and unable to produce an heir.

Likewise, the future of humanity might depend on our answer to, “Who Does Money Serve?”