Poverty and wealth from a spiritual point of view: why they are defined by the state of the soul, how energy affects prosperity, and what lesson of self-restraint (aparigraha) poverty brings.
It might seem that everything here is obvious — everyone knows what poverty is. There is nothing wrong with wanting to become rich. More than that, the wish to be rich is right; it is dharmic (or natural).
It is perfectly natural for a person, in the course of evolution, to strive to widen their possibilities and widen their perception. Let us think about the ideas of "rich" and "poor." We often think that the essence of poverty is the absence of money, and the essence of wealth is having it. But in reality things are not so clear-cut and simple. These two ideas are defined by the state of the soul.
One whose desires are endless becomes a pauper. And one who has peace within and is content with what they have is truly rich.
In one parable, a rich man came to a hermit, brought with him a small bag of gold coins and handed it to the old man with the words: "Master, bless me, let my prosperity grow." To which the Master replied: "You are rich and want to become richer still, so take this bag back. You need it far more than I do."
True poverty and true wealth
Many so-called poor people are in fact rich, and many who look rich are in essence poor. Unfortunately, on our planet there are more people who are poor, outwardly and inwardly, than rich ones. And the task is to change this and increase the number of rich people. In today's world it is usual to count material wealth as the thing of value, while the other spheres of life are not taken into account. But these accumulations are simply a means that gives some people a sense of self-respect, and they will go to great lengths to prove their worth to those around them.
That is why the true bearings have been lost in modern society: a person's finances have become the measure of their worth as a person. Their moral, personal and spiritual qualities are not taken into account.
Most people today believe that money can buy dignity, health, freedom, the chance to do whatever you like, natural riches, good food and so on. But is that so?
Consider a person who lives with people dear to them in an ecologically clean place, breathes fresh air and eats simple, healthy food. They can spend their free time on what they love and with their family and those close to them. Such a person is certainly happy, and that means rich. But some people have nothing in life except money. Their health may be poor; they have not managed to build normal relationships with those around them. Around them are not friends but people looking for some gain from the acquaintance. One can say with confidence that such people are unhappy, and that means poor.
How energy affects prosperity
Energy always flows from one sphere into another: from the physical into the spiritual and back, from the spiritual into the physical. From the physical sphere into the spiritual, energy flows from below upward. For this to happen — that is, for energy to rise from the lower energy centers to the higher ones — one has to make an effort. Achieving this is quite difficult. One needs to give a great deal of attention to psycho-physical exercises (A yoga posture held steadily and comfortably; it balances the glands and quiets body and mind for meditation.), to meditation, to service and to other practices for one's development. Then physical energy will flow into mental energy, and mental energy into spiritual.
A person's aim is to live their life becoming richer in the broad sense of the word, and also to have no energy debts.
Spiritual energy flows easily into physical. If a person has accumulated spiritual energy, then when needed it is easily transformed into physical energy, including material goods. Spiritual energy should be used with care; a sensible approach is needed here. Spending spiritual energy thoughtlessly or excessively on fulfilling physical desires leads to spiritual degeneration, and later to physical degeneration as well. We need to realize that the foundation of our energy body takes a very long time to build. Spending energy over a short period is like a person taking out a bank loan in order to feel rich for one day. They spend the borrowed money without thinking about the consequences. People who spend energy focusing only on the physical side, completely ignoring the spiritual, act in the same way. By doing so, a person destroys the foundation on which spiritual growth rests, and in the end loses everything. I recommend that you read Michael Roach's book Karmic Management, which explores this theme in detail.
The secret of prosperity
Sometimes a person does everything to become successful, yet the result turns out to be the opposite. Why did the effort spent not lead to the goal? Paradoxical as it may seem, to be rich one has to know the hardships of poverty. What advantage does poverty give? Poverty teaches us to limit ourselves. And through this we learn inner freedom. In yoga there is a principle of Five principles for how we treat the world: not harming, truthfulness, not stealing, keeping the mind on the Supreme, not living beyond need. — aparigraha. It means self-restraint, or self-discipline. How can one tell whether a person follows the principle of aparigraha or not? Imagine that someone suddenly comes into a lot of money, but does not change the conditions and principles of their life, does not spend everything on extravagant entertainment or physical comfort, does not become a sybarite. The only thing that has changed in that person's life is a feeling of responsibility for using the money they received wisely.
Means come to a person when the mind develops — that is, when a corresponding level of intellect is ready to receive a certain level of income. Money is given to a person by God as a means of development, of evolution.
Spending it on anything other than evolution can only mean that the person has not learned the lesson they needed and has not become established in aparigraha. But there are no miracles, and they will have to return to the starting point to go through it all once more and finally learn this lesson. That lesson will be physical poverty — limitation, but one that comes not by the person's own will. Everywhere one can see people becoming rich, then poor. In a lifetime this can happen many times. That is why the time when a person finds themselves without means should be blessed, because it is a favorable moment for learning the lesson of self-restraint. Limitation makes one feel very strong discomfort, while self-restraint leads to contentment, a feeling of inner happiness and freedom. When a person wakes up thinking that life has given them everything to be happy, and thanks God for every day lived, then they have learned the lesson of aparigraha. It also means that the person has reached the level at which they can accept abundance and prosperity into their life. Abundance will not spoil such a person; on the contrary, it will be used for the good of others. Breaking the principle of asteya — do not steal — also leads to poverty. This principle is explained in detail in my video "Principles of Harmony 3: Asteya."
Conclusions
So, the characteristics of poverty are these: a person is oriented toward taking rather than giving. This attitude comes from the feeling that what one has is not enough and one wants more. But this frame of mind can be changed by an idea: I have enough of everything; God gives me all that I truly need. And the thoughts turn toward giving. These reflections awaken in a person the need to help others, the need to take concrete steps to make the world better and people happier and richer.
One who is oriented toward giving, toward serving all that exists, finds deep satisfaction in life.
Problems begin when the principles of yama are broken. Reasoning such as "I have no money right now, no time and so on, so I don't help people; but when I have all that, I will certainly do service and live differently" is only a screen hiding an unwillingness to change. Such a person will have to go through the lessons of limitation again and again. If someone wants to, they will find the money, the time and the strength to help others.
Watching people's lives, one can say with confidence that there is a direct connection between a person's mentality and their standard of living. So, as you change your mentality, cultivate a feeling of gratitude, set yourself toward service and helping others, and develop self-discipline. With all this you will overcome your poverty.
A very important practice in changing one's mentality is, of course, regular meditation. Meditation is the practice of accumulating inner wealth, which gives a person a sense of abundance in every sphere.
