Worldly Gain Spiritual Loss

Worldly Gain Spiritual Loss

1992 6 June 16-17 Worldly Gain Spiritual Loss (528) A friend I met recently, Asha Sharma by name, mentioned how well a mutual friend, Divya, had done in landing a job with a big company; which brought her a salary of Rs. 7000 a month. But then, as Asha remarked, Divya seemed to have lost interest in outings and socialising because she had become so preoccupied with her office work. She didn’t even feel like spending time with her husband and children. Divya had not said any of this in a grudging tone. It was simply that her mind had become so tuned to her office work that she had stopped missing her social activities.

The story of Divya made me think about this willingness to become so totally absorbed in mundane activities for a high monthly salary. Here was someone who was prepared to put her heart and soul into her work, to set all other loyalties aside, to become totally absorbed in it to the exclusion of all other human considerations. And for what? For a salary of Rs. 7000 per month. Even in the knowledge that she would have a limited period of 25 to 30 her total lifespan – she felt it necessary to undertake her work with the utmost dedication.

All around us we find examples of like-minded people, engrossed body and soul in their work – devoted to the banalities of commerce. Ask anyone of them to help God’s cause, however, and you will be met with indifference or, at best with half-heartedness. There will be no zeal and dedication here. And whatever little help is offered in terms of effort or money will be regarded by the donor as more than enough. There will be no parallel with the lady who is not satisfied just by working at her office, and who continues to be preoccupied by her work even at home. There will be no show of the kind of interest which develops when one is wholeheartedly devoted to the task in hand.

But why is there such a lack of fervour for non-material goals? This seems very strange when we all know that the rewards God has promised to give for working for His cause are hundreds of thousands of times higher than worldly rewards for everyday tasks. Even a single moment spent in this world on furthering God’s cause is valued at much more than a mere seven thousand rupees. Then why do people fail to show equal seriousness and devotion in purely spiritual matters? The answer is perhaps not far to seek. Worldly returns bring immediate and obvious benefits. It requires no special perceptiveness to grasp this: But, to understand the benefits to be conferred in the Hereafter, one needs to have patience, wisdom and, above all, insight.

People only pay lip service to their belief in God and the Hereafter, for all their attention is focused on this world and its gains. That is why they are all too willing to devote themselves to any job in this world which will bring them a few thousand rupees, regardless of the fact that this may lose them the limitless ‘thousands’ of the world to come.

Dr. Farida Khanam