How to strike a balance between material desires and spiritual growth to be happy

How can we strike a balance between material desires and spiritual growth for long-lasting happiness? If we can find a way to go to the North Pole and the South Pole at the same time, we surely can strike a balance because material desires are like going towards the South Pole and spiritual progress is like progressing towards the North Pole. Material desires will give you pleasure and stress, while spiritual evolution will give you peace, bliss, and joy that forever flows, unlike the momentary pleasure that comes and goes. Therefore, we have to understand that both are opposites. One can't try to balance both because they work in opposing directions with opposing forces. We have to make up our minds to choose either one of them.

The initial pinnacle of happiness is pleasure, often stemming from achievement. This pleasure requires success, desires, and passion. It necessitates a driven ego and a busy mind, yet it inevitably leads to stress and anxiety. Fear, worry, and depression often accompany this pleasure as by-products of success. In contrast, the pursuit of spirituality demands a tranquil mind and a conscious decision to forsake the path of pleasure. Instead, we opt to seek peace and discover the purpose of our existence. We strive to answer the fundamental questions of 'Who am I?' and 'Why am I here?' True happiness, in spirituality, is not achieved but rather learned. It arises from liberation from the triple suffering of the body, mind, and ego.

With success, you face the Seven Monsters of the Mind – Fear, Worry, Stress, Anxiety, Regret, Shame and Guilt. These monsters lead to depression. With success and pleasure, you face the Monsters of the Ego – Anger, Hatred, Revenge, Jealousy, Pride and Selfishness. These monsters lead to aggression and with this deadly combination of aggression and depression, one can never have eternal happiness.

But if you choose to take the journey towards the North, if you take the inner voyage and if you let go of the pleasure, which gives you only momentary happiness or an ephemeral joy, you will reach a state of SatChitAnanda. Sat-Chit -Ananda is that state of Eternal Bliss that comes with Truth Consciousness. In this state, one overcomes all the monsters of the mind and the ego and experiences a state of Eternal Peace. Peace is the foundation of happiness. You don't run after things that give you pleasure because that pleasure will not last forever but you take the journey, the inner voyage and reach the state of Consciousness, in which you feel the Divine Bliss. You still the monkey mind that jumps from yesterday to tomorrow, creating misery and sorrow. You go beyond the ego that is agitated with anger, hate and you reach a new gate, when you have an Enlightened Ego.

However, this stands in stark contrast to the pursuit of success and achievement. It diverges from the transient happiness found in material pursuits, which is ephemeral and fleeting. Hence, there's no need to strive for a balance between a spiritual and material life. It's simply not feasible! If you opt for happiness through material means, prepare yourself to confront life's myriad trials and tribulations. Conversely, by embarking on a spiritual journey, you can anticipate experiencing divinity, peace, bliss, and joy, all while gaining insight into the purpose of your existence. You'll acquire the art of acceptance without resistance, comprehend the concept of karma, and master the art of surrender. Eventually, you'll embrace the philosophy of 'Whatever will be, will be.'

So, decide if you want to go towards the North pole and reach that state of Eternal Bliss in Truth Consciousness or you want to go towards the South, enjoy pleasure and pain, loss and gain, sun and rain, again and again. It's your choice but don't try to balance it because you can't! It is simple. Material life and Spiritual life are like the two ends in a game of see-saw. You can't have both sides on the top. If one side is up, the other side goes down. So is material and Spiritual life.

Remember! Material life can give you only momentary pleasure because money can't buy Eternal Peace. Success and happiness will come and go, if you are pursuing the material world. But if you are pursuing the Spiritual world, you can be liberated from all misery and sorrow, as you live in the present moment with joy and not shuttle between yesterday and tomorrow. Therefore, you have to make a choice and it is in your hands to choose - Whether you want to have a life filled with pleasure that brings momentary happiness or you want a life with Eternal Peace, Divine Love and Everlasting Bliss!

Authored by: AiR- Atman in Ravi, Happiness Ambassador, Author, Spiritual Mentor and Philanthropist

04:42

Ascend to Higher Consciousness: Understanding Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2, Verse 59 | Achieving Transcendence