The mind thinks linear: can we get out of that straight line?

The mind’s logic has it that those who have a lot must have tried very hard to acquire what they have. But spiritual logic says that we get a lot when we don’t try but when we just set our intentions in the right direction. This must be without the idea of greed, but with a sense of sharing what we get in the service of society. Mental logic also says that when you have a lot you are very happy. But spiritual logic says that even though you may have much, it will not give you joy and peace if that is kept only for yourself. This latter logic comes from the fact that nature doesn’t hoard, it shares, and circulates. If we look at nature, we see the dynamic of cycles of happenings –it’s never a linear process as this age of science has so ingrained in us. The living and the dying, the youth and old age, the water and the steam and the rain and rivers that give us our life strength and sustenance, the economy of nations that must depend on the circulation of wealth among its people, our physical bodies that circulate our blood and life-giving oxygen all show us that to hoard and keep will only plug up our body systems, our ecological systems, our economic systems and even our spiritual systems. Perpetuation and life is about sharing and giving and service. That is why we find in so many places in our Holy Quraan, next to prayer, it is always about giving, for giving is tantamount to prayer.

Our lives can be ever richer when we understand the power of giving and sharing. Hoarding and selfish desires will only coagulate our system and lead to death which in itself is not a bad thing if we can learn to look at death also as an event in a cyclic path; a passing over rather than an end of all. But that is the spiritual maturity we must have as individuals that make up a nation -- to prosper, to have peace and be in the throes of continued joy.