It was an axiom among cultured people that when someone comes by wealth or power, they give him a certain humility which he is not otherwise endowed with. Nowadays, we often see the exhibition of the opposite. The cultural expressions vary very much. In the evolution of consciousness from the physical to mental, we certainly see quite a reversal. The physical man is a brute. To him, might is right. His dharma is to crush the other person, as he is taken as a rival or enemy. The mental man certainly does not resort to liquidating the other, though he too may view him as a rival. He seeks the cooperation of the rival, tries to be rational, works towards a compromise. That way, humanity becomes civilised. That is the path to enjoy greater comforts. Moving from the physical to the mental, man becomes vastly productive and consequently affluent.
Yesterday's rulers become today's ruled is one phenomenon of history. In early times the priests ruled. Then the monarchy ruled. At different times different classes are privileged. Whoever is privileged will rule or enjoy the most is a rule of life. In practice, they do not simply rule, they EXPLOIT as fully as circumstances permit. Society moves ahead at all points. One of them is a state where the scope for exploitation by one section will become less and less and finally be eliminated. Is it possible for us as individuals to practice that ideal in our own families? If so, those families will prosper out of all proportion. The principle behind this fact is harmony is productive and disharmony is destructive. Harmony is desirable on any showing. Harmony is a principle of higher consciousness where all is in each and each is in all.
We see in life the oppressors of one period are the oppressed in another period. A young man joined the army. After retirement, he joined a university as Physical Education Director. There he was to meet his elder brother who was the head of their family working as a peon. Socially, status can vary or reverse, not spiritually. In one's own personal life, if he does NOT allow the MIND to dominate the body, Mother says, there will be no disease. Poverty arises because a small mind dominates our life - the vital. Absence of exploitation of one part by another is Prosperity. Man who is willing to express his capacities in utter disregard of social opinions - not allowing the vital to rule the Mind - prospers in a great measure. That consciousness needs a reversal. The American prosperity today rests on the principle of a Man doing any work in which he has talents.