To gain spiritual wealth requires you to acquire spiritual knowledge. What constitutes spiritual knowledge and what does a person benefit by acquiring it? These fundamental questions are addressed in this article Matses.
Spiritual wealth is wealth that is associated with knowledge. To gain spiritual wealth requires you to acquire spiritual knowledge. And spiritual knowledge refers to facts and information about the spiritual aspect of life. Such facts and information consist of the following: 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 endeavors.
We need these facts and information if we are to avoid groping through life guided only by our instincts and emotions. We require these facts and information if we are to perform at our full potential and so get the most out of life. Let us now look at specific benefits a person will derive from acquiring spiritual knowledge.
Human ability is limited. So is our life span. For these reasons, no human being is capable of acquiring knowledge and skill in all areas of human endeavor. And so each individual acquires training in a particular trade or profession in which he or she then participates. Since no one can do everything, we need others and others need us. If a businessman’s car breaks down, he will need a mechanic to fix it. And when the mechanic falls ill, he will need to see a doctor for treatment. 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 among family members. When we arrive at the workplace, 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 workplace 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. Instances abound 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. Despite 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 difficult situation we have to deal with. We cannot always ensure our safety, welfare and the success of our pursuits. This explains why humans, all through the ages, have instinctively sought to reach out to greater powers or an almighty power to help ensure their well being. That human ability is limited is a fact of life. However, it is comforting to know that God has most graciously made His unlimited capabilities available to us.
Another benefit of acquiring spiritual knowledge is that we become able to access the unlimited powers of God through faith in Him. This is in addition to being able to secure divine help and protection permanently by putting God first in our lives. The saying, “knowledge is power” clearly applies here. The spiritually enlightened individual is a spiritually empowered person.
Human beings have conscience which makes us aware of the choice we have to make between right and wrong. This means that the things we say or do can be either right or wrong. A natural consequence of this is that human beings need to be discouraged from doing wrong. At the same time, they also need to be encouraged to do good. This is why wrongdoing usually attracts unpleasant consequences while the good we do usually brings reward. 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.
Our criminal justice system aims to discourage wrongdoing by meting out punishment to wrongdoers to serve as deterrent. On the other hand, society offers all manner of rewards and awards as ways of encouragement to those who contribute positively to the system. And these include the wages or salaries we receive for doing even the most mundane jobs.
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 level of moral development. As well as 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 consequences. 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 as we strive to realize our goals and aspirations. There is a spiritual principle which provides that success will surely crown our efforts if we persevere in pursuing a goal and if we have faith in God. Human beings will be spared a lot of worries, doubts and fears when they become aware of this principle.
Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba for almost half a century, belongs among those who made it to the top in their chosen field. His view on what it takes to journey from the bottom to the top is noteworthy. He said: “It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and plan of action”. Awareness of the above mentioned 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 gone through a bad situation and you are upset. While you are still unsettled, someone says or does something annoying and you flare up and respond harshly. What this person said or did is something you would ordinarily have overlooked but on this occasion you fly into a temper. Why did this happen? Here is the explanation.
We are creative beings and 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 is bound to translate into physical reality at some point in time. This is a natural creative process – the process that produces the awesome power of belief. The power of belief is a creative tool we can use to establish any condition or thing we desire. It is a spiritual resource we can employ to achieve seemingly impossible feats.
The great religious teacher, Jesus Christ, had this to say about the power of belief: “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes”. (Mark 9:23). He did not mention this all-important concept only once. On another occasion he declared: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”. (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 here again is another benefit of acquiring spiritual knowledge. A spiritually enlightened person is able to consciously employ this spiritual resource that is available to us. It will enable them to effectively deal with the difficulties and challenges we all have to face in life. If they have a dream, they will hold on to it tenaciously because they know that an unstoppable creative process will cause it to become reality.
Such a person will also appreciate the need to always keep their mind clean so as to avoid giving expression to negative thoughts and emotions. This can be achieved by using positive thoughts to displace negative thoughts and emotions whenever these occur in the mind. Acquiring spiritual knowledge, in effect, enables a person to develop what may be called, mind management skills.
That spiritual knowledge is performance-enhancing and life-improving cannot be denied. But then these questions come to mind: Why is the quality of life of religious people not noticeably different from that of non-religious people? And why are the populace of religious nations not better off than those of secular nations?
The answer to these questions lies in the fact that the quality of spiritual knowledge available to us up until now 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 spiritual realities. Obviously, knowledge that is so flawed cannot bring anyone great benefits.
But here is cheering news. Quality spiritual knowledge is now available under the name, Spiritual Science. This is spiritual knowledge that was obtained using the scientific methods of observation, experimentation and logical deduction. In scope and depth, Spiritual Science provides sufficient spiritual knowledge that will enable a person 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.