Jul 24 2008
Acquiring Spiritual Wealth Will Greatly Enrich Your Life
Spiritual wealth is wealth that derives from knowledge. To gain spiritual wealth entails acquiring spiritual knowledge. Facts and information about the spiritual aspect of life are what constitute spiritual knowledge. Such facts and information include: facts about our spiritual nature and the purpose of our life; information about God and the role He plays in human affairs; facts and information on the way our spirituality shapes and orders human life and society; and information on the spiritual principles and processes that regulate our activities and influence the outcome of our pursuits.
We require these facts and information if we are to avoid groping through life guided only by our instincts and emotions. We need these facts and information if we are to perform at our full potential and so get the most out of life.
Let us now examine the many benefits a person will derive from acquiring spiritual knowledge.
Human ability is limited. So is our life span. Consequently, no one has the ability or the time to acquire knowledge and skill in all areas of human endeavour. And so each individual acquires training and then participates in a particular trade or profession. No human being can accomplish all things. If a businessman’s car breaks down, he will need a mechanic to fix it. And in the event that the mechanic falls ill, he will need to see a doctor for treatment. We need others and others need us. The sexes need each other in the domestic enterprise of starting and raising a family. It is an apt description of our situation when we say: “no man is an island”.
Clearly, we are a social species which is why we are constantly interacting with one another. The day begins at home with interaction amongst family members. At the work place we are involved with colleagues, superiors or subordinates. Here also, we have to attend to those who need our products or services and deal with those whose products or services we need. In between the home and work place we have to contend with other road users.
How skillful we are at relating to others goes a long way towards determining how happy and successful we are at home and at work. One of the benefits of acquiring spiritual knowledge is that it enables us to develop interpersonal skills.
Things do not always turn out happily or successfully in spite of our best efforts, individually or collectively. There have been instances where doctors have asked patients to go home and await death as nothing more could be done for them – medical science has reached its limit. In spite of impressive advances in modern medicine, sickness is still a major cause of untimely deaths. Technical faults, human error and natural causes have resulted in tragic loss of human lives in accidents involving the different modes of transportation. Our sophisticated early warning devices and protective measures have not always proved adequate in safeguarding us from natural disasters caused by floods, violent storms and earthquake.
Apparently, our limitations as human beings make us unable to cope with every situation or circumstance. On our own, we cannot always ensure our safety, welfare and the success of our pursuits. This is why humans, all through the ages, have instinctively sought to reach out to a power much greater than them to help ensure their well being. And the good thing is this. God created us with limited ability but in His infinite wisdom He has made His unlimited capabilities available to us.
Another benefit of acquiring spiritual knowledge is that it makes us able to access the unlimited powers of God through exercise of faith in Him. The dictum, “knowledge is power” clearly applies here. The spiritually enlightened individual is a spiritually empowered person.
Human beings have conscience which makes them aware of the choice they ought to make between right and wrong. This, in effect, means that some things we say or do are wrong and some things we say or do are right. A natural consequence of this is that human beings need to be discouraged from doing wrong and they also need to be encouraged to do good. Hence, wrongdoing usually attracts unpleasant consequences while the good we do usually brings us reward.
In fact, our criminal justice system conforms to this pattern. Punishment is meted out to wrongdoers to serve as deterrent. On the other hand, society, by way of encouragement, offers all manner of rewards and awards for those who contribute positively to the system. And this includes the wages or salaries we receive for doing even the most mundane jobs. A porter who helps someone carry their baggage will be rewarded with a tip. But if he steals a bag and is caught, the law will punish him.
And this brings us to yet another benefit of acquiring spiritual knowledge. We are moral beings and spiritual enlightenment enables the individual to attain a high moral state. In addition to being able to tell right from wrong, such a person will be very responsive to their conscience. This way, they will be able to avoid wrongdoing and its repercussions. Such a person will always strive to do good since they know that good deeds will, sooner or later, be rewarded.
It is said that “where there is a will, there is a way” and that “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”. But not everyone is aware of the amazing results determination and perseverance can produce in our efforts to realize our goals and aspirations. Human beings will be spared a lot of worries, doubts and fears if they are aware of the spiritual principle which provides that success will inevitably crown our efforts if we persevere in the pursuit of a goal and if we have faith in God.
Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, is a man who has made it to the top. His view on what it takes to journey from the bottom to the top is noteworthy. He said: “It does no matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action”. Awareness of the abovementioned spiritual principle is another important benefit we derive from acquiring spiritual knowledge.
Many people, at one time or another, may have experienced the situation I am about to describe. You have just gone through a bad situation and you are upset. Then someone says or does something annoying and you flare up and respond harshly. What this person has said or done is something you would ordinarily have overlooked but on this occasion you fly off the handle. Why did this happen? Here is the explanation.
The human mind is a creative device such that mental conditions tend to spontaneously manifest as observable phenomena. Any condition, image or vision we hold on to in the mind will, sooner or later, translate into physical reality. This is a natural creative process – the process that produces the awesome power of belief. The power of belief is a spiritual resource we can employ to achieve seemingly impossible feats.
This is what Jesus Christ, the great religious teacher, has to say about the power of belief: “If you can? Everything is possible for him who believes”. (The Bible, Mark 9:23). He did not mention this all-important concept only once. He touched on it again on another occasion. Hear him: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”. (The Bible, Mark 11:24). Napoleon Hill, world-famous author of the book, Think and Grow Rich, expressed this concept very succinctly in this statement: “Whatever a man can conceive and believe he can achieve”.
And so we come to yet another important benefit a person can derive from acquiring spiritual knowledge. The spiritually enlightened individual is able to consciously employ this spiritual resource that is available to us to effectively deal with the difficulties and challenges we all have to face in life. By using affirmations, such a person will hold on to their dream because they know that an unstoppable creative process will ultimately cause their dream to become reality. Such an individual will also appreciate the need to always keep their mind clean by using positive thoughts to clear the mind of negative thoughts and emotions.
That spiritual knowledge is performance-enhancing and life-improving cannot be denied. But then the question arises: “Why is the quality of life of religious people not noticeably different from that of non religious people and the populace of religious nations are not better off than those of secular nations?”
The answer to this question lies in the fact that the quality of spiritual knowledge available to us thus far is poor. In the established religious teachings, a lot of the facts provided are not backed by proof and many of the beliefs propagated cannot stand up to rational examination. Unverifiable conjectures about existence beyond this life are professed as truths. In fact, fiction, misconception and superstition are being presented as spiritual realities. Obviously, knowledge that is so flawed cannot lead to any great benefits.
But here is cheering news. Quality spiritual knowledge is now available under the name, Spiritual Science. This is spiritual knowledge that has been obtained using the scientific methods of observation, experimentation and logical deduction. In scope and depth, Spiritual Science provides sufficient spiritual knowledge that will enable humans attain full spiritual enlightenment.
The opportunity to gain spiritual wealth and greatly enrich our lives has never been so good for the human race. We owe it to ourselves to get more out of life by acquiring this knowledge-based wealth.
