If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the

Hear the words of Sri Ramakrishna, mystic and sage of Bengal, who declared: “If you first fortify yourself with the true knowledge of the Universal Self, and then live in the midst of wealth and worldliness, surely they will in no way affect you.” In this teaching lies the ancient call to inner strength, the reminder that man is not defined by what surrounds him, but by what is rooted within him. Knowledge of the Universal Self—the eternal spirit that dwells beyond birth and death—is the armor of the soul. With it, a person may walk through palaces of gold or fields of temptation and remain unshaken, for his foundation is not in fleeting things, but in the Eternal.

The ancients of every land have spoken this truth in their own tongue. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna that the wise man is like the lotus: though rooted in the water, he remains untouched by it, his petals clean though the mud surrounds him. So too Ramakrishna declares that the soul fortified by the Universal Self can live in the midst of wealth and worldliness yet remain pure. For wealth itself is not evil, nor the world itself corrupt; it is attachment that enslaves, and attachment can be broken only by knowledge of the higher Self.

Consider the life of King Janaka of Mithila, remembered in Hindu tradition. He was a ruler with great wealth, seated upon a throne, surrounded by splendor. Yet the sages honored him as a man of wisdom, for though he lived amid riches, his heart was free. The jewels he wore did not chain his spirit; the palaces he ruled did not cloud his vision. Why? Because he was fortified by knowledge of the Universal Self. Wealth passed through his hands, but it never entered his soul. Here is Ramakrishna’s truth, lived centuries before: when you know who you truly are, the world cannot own you.

Contrast this with those rulers and merchants who amassed riches but were consumed by them. Many emperors of Rome, seated upon thrones of marble, fell into ruin because they mistook gold for greatness. They did not know the Universal Self, and so their hearts were corrupted by excess. They built monuments of stone, but not of spirit; when the storms of history came, both their wealth and their names crumbled into dust. Ramakrishna warns us that without inner fortification, wealth does not serve—it destroys.

Yet let us be clear: Ramakrishna did not call for the rejection of the world, but for mastery over it. To hide from wealth and temptation is not strength, it is fear. To stand among them, fortified by inner knowledge, and remain untouched—that is power. The sage is not the one who flees into the mountains alone, but the one who can walk through the marketplace without being consumed by greed, who can sit in power without being drunk with pride. Such a soul is a true leader, a true guide, a light in the midst of shadows.

The meaning, then, is this: true knowledge is not abstract philosophy, but the living awareness that your essence is divine, eternal, and beyond corruption. When you know this, the world loses its chains. Wealth and worldliness may surround you, but they cannot command you. You can use them as tools, as resources for good, but they cannot enslave your heart. Without this knowledge, wealth is poison; with it, wealth becomes a servant of truth.

The lesson for us all is clear: seek first the knowledge of the Universal Self. Cultivate inner strength through meditation, reflection, and the pursuit of wisdom. Then, when wealth, success, and worldly duties come to you—as they surely will—you will remain steady, free, and uncorrupted. Do not fear the world; master yourself, and the world will have no power over you.

Therefore, let your practice be this: fortify your spirit daily with remembrance of the higher Self. When you walk among wealth, let it serve others rather than enslave you. When you taste success, let it pass through you without changing who you are. For as Ramakrishna has spoken with the authority of the ancients: if you are first fortified with the knowledge of the Universal Self, then no wealth and no worldliness will touch you. And in that freedom lies true greatness.