What wealth is and what prosperity really means: wealth on the physical, psychic and spiritual levels, the purpose of wealth, and five causes of poverty.
What is wealth, and what is the essence of prosperity? How should we live so as to grow from a small "seed" into infinity? For a spiritual person this topic is very important, because a spiritual seeker lives not only for their own enlightenment but also to serve as many people as possible. For this reason a spiritual person needs to have many resources. It is also very important to understand the concept of wealth correctly.
The concept of wealth
For most people wealth is money, that is, the material sphere. However, this is a great misconception, and it leads a person to poverty because they ignore other important aspects of the concept. We also need to grasp that the causes of success or failure lie in the spiritual sphere, from which the "seed" sprouts into the cruder levels — the psychic and the material. That is why the spiritual sphere is always decisive.
Wealth on the physical level
- Psychic and physical health If you follow moral and ethical principles and the other principles of yoga — eat properly, fast, do A yoga posture held steadily and comfortably; it balances the glands and quiets body and mind for meditation. — your health will be preserved and even improve.
Believing that money is more important than health, people first earn money and then spend it on restoring their health. Also, if a dishonest way of earning is chosen, people destroy their health. There is an invisible connection between the mind and the body. And keeping harmony between them is very important.
- The respect and trust of society It's like the proverb says: "Better to have a hundred friends than a hundred rubles." Folk wisdom teaches us to set priorities, because a person's reputation in society is very important.
- Clean water, good food, fresh air and a pleasant atmosphere Some people feel a complex because they are not well off financially, without noticing that the Universe gives them quite a lot of different blessings. For example, the chance to walk in a magnificent park or to cook tasty food from the simplest ingredients.
In yogic philosophy there is an idea that the Supreme Consciousness creates the universe within Its own mind by making Itself cruder. That is, Consciousness takes on a cruder vibration, which manifests as the material world made of waves. And within this creation microcosms are formed, which evolve and rise upward, gradually making their vibrations subtler. As the microcosms develop, the Supreme Consciousness delegates to them a certain degree of control. That is, the more developed a microcosm is, the higher it stands on the evolutionary ladder, the greater the degree of freedom it receives. If a microcosm abuses this freedom, thereby contributing to its own degradation or the degradation of other beings, it is deprived of this freedom and rolls back in evolution.
- A feeling of confidence in tomorrow This aspect of wealth does not depend on material savings. To feel confident about tomorrow, there have to be spiritual, psychic and intellectual reasons for it.
To achieve wealth, you need to work on all the aspects listed above. And in this idea of wealth, money may or may not be present. If you have all the elements without the mediation of money, you can consider yourself a wealthy person.
Wealth on the psychic level
- Positive emotions, a developed intellect This lets you feel happy, satisfied, fitting into society, and it shows how satisfied you are with your profession and your salary.
- Having knowledge Knowledge can always be converted into material wealth — it is an important component of psychic wealth.
Wise people invest their energy, including their material resources, in acquiring psychic wealth — knowledge, skills, abilities and so on.
However, the main wealth is in the spiritual sphere! It is easily converted into all other kinds of wealth at a favorable rate. Ideal and flawless knowledge comes through the intuitional sphere.
Wealth in the spiritual sphere
- The ability to absorb and perceive spiritual reality, to be attuned to it. In this case your mind, your psyche, will move in the cosmic rhythm, and you will be able to experience spiritual happiness, flawless contentment. Even if at the moment you have nothing material, but you have attained spiritual wealth, you will feel like a happy person.
Thus a rational person converts their physical energy into psychic energy, and then into spiritual energy.
This is the very process of spiritual practice. A person develops, becoming subtler and more elevated, and not the other way around. Movement toward crudeness is called "degradation" — it is a narrowing in all spheres. And movement toward subtlety is evolution, expansion, enrichment and prosperity.
So, to gain spiritual wealth — not in theory or as a concept but in practice — you need to strive to attain the Supreme Consciousness, the divine reality, God in your life.
What is the purpose of wealth?
The question arises: what are the true purposes of wealth? The first is knowing oneself and liberating the soul. The second is caring for others and helping them attain liberation. It's important to understand that our being is mostly spirit, a little less intellect, and very little body. We are much more psychic beings than physical ones. And we are much more spiritual beings than psychic ones. Material resources are needed to meet five needs: food, clothing, housing, education and medical care. And the key point here is to invest in your future, in your psychic and spiritual development.
Another important aspect: at least 2% of your income should be set aside for service, because the meaning of your existence in this universe is to do Spiritual practice: the daily effort, above all meditation, to move the mind toward the Infinite. and to serve other beings. You also need to set aside funds for your spiritual development: buying spiritual literature, attending retreats (retreats are yoga seminars, collective spiritual practice), traveling to places that inspire you, donations and help to other people. This means that a person's main resources should be directed toward spiritual elevation and service to people.
The causes of poverty
The first is wrong priorities, when a person is oriented toward squandering rather than multiplying. We need to understand that money is needed for development, not for luxury and pleasures.
The second cause of poverty is violating the laws of harmony — stealing.
There are different kinds of stealing. For example, the urge to get freebies, that is, to get everything for nothing. Another kind of stealing is not giving what is due to another. The third kind of stealing is taking what belongs to another, that is, physical theft. Even simply wanting to have what belongs to another is stealing. These different kinds of stealing wound the soul. Stealing is an extreme degree of selfishness, a manifestation of an animal form of behavior.
The third cause of poverty is envy. Envying another is the mentality of a poor person. Generosity is the mentality of a wealthy person. A lack of service also gives rise to poverty, because one's duty to the universe is not being fulfilled.
The fourth cause of poverty is excess, which leads to the decay of the mind. When a person strives to get more and more material things, following their desires rather than their needs, the universe takes this opportunity away, training them in austerity.
The fifth cause is a lack of contentment, when a person is dissatisfied with life and doesn't value what they have. Such people feel that they are always lacking something; they try to buy the cheapest things, haggling over every kopeck and forgetting that the other person also needs to earn a living. The best option in this case is to keep to this idea: buy some things at a higher price, giving the other person a chance to move toward well-being too.
There is an interesting test for finding out how far you are from prosperity. Ask yourself: how would my life change if I received a large sum of money? A person whose mind is in a state of prosperity will answer that their personal life would not change; only their ability to do service would grow.
To be continued...
