Dependence?

Sitting and daydreaming in class while randomly lending an ear to the lecturer occasionally is an integrated part of every student’s life. The occasional interest often arises only if the topic being discussed is of any value or if it is familiar to the listener. When you suddenly get back to reality after swaying over the lush greenery of some countryside fantasy, you hear your lecturer talk about how humans are bound to “material gains” based on the pleasure principle of hedonism. Then you hear them talk about how important “spirituality” is and how it must come first. Then you really begin to think about it…

Does spirituality or rather spiritual and mental gratification depend on material wealth? Is one higher than the other or are they dependent on each other? In my honest opinion, there can be no spiritual or mental development or gratification without material gains or wealth. One has to know the material to differentiate it from the spiritual. Our physical needs such as food, water, shelter, clothing, etc must be satisfied before our spiritual or mental needs are sated. One’s body requires material wealth to survive… without the survival of the body there won’t be a spiritual or mental entity as well. Even our emotions are controlled by our needs.

Isn’t it funny? Knowing how wrong we are when we talk about how necessary spiritual development is and how we shun material wealth when we see it in the hands of another. We deny it of its worth and purpose. We fail to see how necessary materials really are… even the basics. What we need to keep in mind is balance and satisfaction… the rest will follow in due time.