Saturday, 11 February 2012
3 Replies
2.2K Visits
<p>What is meant by "What profits a man who gains the world and gives up his own soul"?</p>
Accepted Answer
In esotericism, we comprehend that human beings do not yet possess soul. It must be created, for as the Master Jesus taught us, "With patience ye shall possess your souls" or "In your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19). So what does it profit us if we acquire all the material things we desire (money, property, children, etc.) but we neglect and abandon our own spiritual development? We can have all these prior things, but what is most important is that we create and develop our spiritual possibilities. Materialism, with is innate focus on the external, rejects the internal, so it will profit us nothing if we are very rich externally but very poor on the inside.
Joyful in hope, suffering in tribulation, be thou constant in thy prayer.
Benedictis, qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
Accepted Answer
In esotericism, we comprehend that human beings do not yet possess soul. It must be created, for as the Master Jesus taught us, "With patience ye shall possess your souls" or "In your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19). So what does it profit us if we acquire all the material things we desire (money, property, children, etc.) but we neglect and abandon our own spiritual development? We can have all these prior things, but what is most important is that we create and develop our spiritual possibilities. Materialism, with is innate focus on the external, rejects the internal, so it will profit us nothing if we are very rich externally but very poor on the inside.
Joyful in hope, suffering in tribulation, be thou constant in thy prayer.
Benedictis, qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
I understand and agree with your answer. However, there are many people who are blessed with a number of material things in this world, from money, property etc and they might be a kind generous person and live their life in a modest fashion. Should they feel guilty because they were blessed with such fortune?
No. There is nothing wrong with having abundance. What's wrong is to use that abundance for egotistical ends. If we can have a nice property, a car, and money to support ourselves, there is nothing wrong with that - these are fundamental needs in the western world. What is wrong is to hoard goods beyond one's needs, to selfishly accumulate material things and not be concerned with the Spirit.
Generally, wealth equates with leisure. We need to have leisure time, or time dedicated to spiritual work, and not just physical work. What's terrible is for wealthy persons, who have a lot of free time on their hands to enjoy themselves, to use that time in trivial pursuits instead of the pursuit of the Spirit. I am sure you can find countless examples of people in the world like this, especially in the west (North America and Canada, the melting pot and foundation for the seventh sub-race).
Generally, wealth equates with leisure. We need to have leisure time, or time dedicated to spiritual work, and not just physical work. What's terrible is for wealthy persons, who have a lot of free time on their hands to enjoy themselves, to use that time in trivial pursuits instead of the pursuit of the Spirit. I am sure you can find countless examples of people in the world like this, especially in the west (North America and Canada, the melting pot and foundation for the seventh sub-race).
Joyful in hope, suffering in tribulation, be thou constant in thy prayer.
Benedictis, qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!"
- Page :
- 1
There are no replies made for this post yet.