JOIN USWhat are the qualities of a person high born in divine wealth? Sadguru Sri Sharavana Baba often says that a seeker cannot transmit light if he himself is in darkness.
He must therefore illumine himself first before he is able to give light to others. For this to happen, certain qualities must be nurtured.
Sri Krishna outlines important qualities including overcoming desire, self-control, generosity, self-confidence, adherence to truth and righteousness, softness in speech, have love and compassion for all beings, abstain from violence, shun arrogance and hatred and practice austerity. Imbibing such qualities are essential for a spiritual seeker and integral to those born with divine wealth.
Alternately, for those born in demonic wealth and who dwell in darkness, qualities such as hypocrisy, the seeking of name and fame, disposition to get angry and treat others with harshness and insensitivity and pride and conceit are some of the qualities of those who are embedded in ignorance.
Divine wealth results in freedom while demonic wealth results in bondage.
Persons of a demonic nature are unable to distinguish right from wrong, they are bereft of purity, character and truth and believe the world is without godliness. Limited by their narrow visions, they are steeped in delusion and led by anger and passion. Craving wealth, lacking humility, they are led by their egos. They turn cruel and hateful and “stupefied in life after life, without ever finding Me, O son of Kunti, they then go to the lowest state.”
The Gita is harsh on those who are caught up in the web of materialism and the pursuit of sensory pleasures. The three doors of darkness are passion, anger and greed. These invite unhappiness and misery.
“One who does not follow the teachings of the great sages,” writes Swami Rama, “but instead follows his own whims does not attain happiness or the goal of life. The scriptures are the testimony to guide the aspirant, enabling him to know what to do and what not to do. Many have trodden the path of spirituality before us and have left accurate records that help one to know if he is properly progressing on the path.
Many fake teachers perform so-called miracles that are never referred in the scriptures. They perform those tricks to acquire a large following just to satisfy their egos. The seeker should be careful and should not follow a modern teacher without knowing him well and comparing his teachings with those of authentic scriptures. The scriptures guide the aspirant if they are properly understood and not interpreted merely according to one's own convenience”.
Faith, dispassion and surrender are the key ingredients that illumine the path of the spiritual aspirant.