Spiritual problems

   People's Spiritual Functioning and its Problems

This chapter serves to raise our awareness of people's spiritual qualities and problems. For this purpose, we shall examine and specify the consequences of two basic qualities: one from the intellectual domain, and the other from the spiritual domain.

1. People are wise, creative, evolving beings. Thus they are necessarily imperfect. This causes their activities, responses and standpoints to be imperfect as well. People develop because their urges lead them to do so, and their qualities carry out this development. If we assess their future by their past, people will continue developing at an increased rate. Therefore we may say that they have a natural and constant goal: to stride towards progress. In order for people to realize this purpose, their qualities must develop, too.

A person develops his qualities, and realizes his goals, through creative action that results in the appearance of suitable end-products. It can be said that a person occupied in such an activity is functioning optimally. In order for a person to do so, he requires appropriate knowledge and goals. Thanks to the drive for progress, people have both the urge and the ability to obtain this. Apart from the sources within one's self, people have two additional sources.

a. The social source provides this content through copy, faith, and proof. Society also provides encouragement for its successful attainment.

b. The spiritual source partially or fully provides this content through creative flashes from the marvelous spiritual source known as the "Universal Mind.”

Due to people’s imperfection, not everyone develops properly, and thus not everyone provides these creative end-products. In other words, not everyone realizes their purpose; in fact, few people do.

Socially, the informational content and goals that others provide are often incorrect. This regards to information based on copying, and even more so in regards to content based on belief. The encouragement society provides may be faulty and the content-processing may be wrong for the same reason.

Spiritually, not every person receives assistance from this marvelous spiritual source. It can be said that a person who does not realize his purpose has obstacles in doing so. These impediments cause a person to feel frustrated and to run around in circles. Generally, these obstructions also lead to erroneous and primitive functioning.

2.  People are creative positive beings: Therefore, people can do Good. Plato and Confucius, the ancient world's great philosophers, confirmed this; the Pentateuch asserts it. Furthermore, people have an urge to do Good.

A person acts with his free will, is convinced that he is doing good. Thus we may say that people were created to do Good. Love leads people to do Good. Doing Good, and expressing love, are the results of proper spiritual development.

People, as positive beings, will function optimally when they do Good. Plato asserts: "A person must know Good in order to do it." He who functions with high self-esteem will know it, and one who expresses love will make proper use of it.
Plato, "A person who knows Good will also inform others of it."

We conclude by saying that people’s purpose is to creatively do Good as they stride towards positive progress. Thus, the knowledge and goals required for the realization of this purpose must also be positive.

Due to people’s imperfection, not everyone does the true Good, and so not everyone realizes their purpose. One fails to do Good if something stands in his way. This obstruction stems from a lack of proper development of one’s spiritual domain. This obstacle also harms his development and functioning, including their spiritual welfare. If the way towards doing Good is blocked, the urge remains naturally active and manifests itself in the direction of evil. Even in this case, an evildoer attempts to carry out what, in his eyes, appears to be Good. We will refer to it as the "false Good". Thus we may say that people, as imperfect creations, naturally do both Good and evil.

If a person does evil (the "false good") as a result of his free will, most of his spiritual powers will take part in its execution, and so the resulting destruction will be maximized. It is not so when he does evil under coercion. A person will also do evil when he uses erroneous knowledge and goals; namely, when he believes or accepts as truth that in realizing it he do Good.

This spiritual problem is among humanity's most severe, and is the main reason for the disasters that people have brought unto others, and sometimes themselves, throughout history.

In conclusion: We may confidently assert that humanity's spiritual problem is the evildoing stemming mainly from their imperfection that is situated in their spiritual realm--a realm that for various reasons we know little about.
 Not only does a person perform evil due to his imperfection, but these actions also lead to the creation and development of false truths. These false truths harm him, as well as others for which  he is willing to fight and die for.
This imperfection gives him life and beauty, but also the negative expression of his abilities with all the harm it causes. 

Therefore, in order to get people to solve their acute spiritual problem, the Creator furnished us long ago with His ultimate, spiritual improvement. He encouraged and even ordered us countless times to fulfill it.

A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.
Albert Einstein
 

The power of man has grown in every sphere, except over himself.
Winston Churchill

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - as in being able to remake ourselves.
Mohandas Gandhi

Your world is a living expression of how you are using and have used your mind.
Earl Nightingale

People are where they are because that is exactly where they really want to be - whether they will admit that or not.
Earl Nightingale

There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.
 Wolfgang von Goethe

The world is a dangerous place, not  because of those who do evil, but  because of those who look on and do nothing.
Albert Einstein

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future
Bernard Shaw

Intelligence is not to make no mistakes, but quickly to see how to make them good.
 Bertolt Brecht

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil therefore choose life
MOSES

Our true wealth is the good we do in this world. None of us has faith unless we desire for our neighbors what we desire for ourselves.
Mohammed

It is surprising what a man can do when he has to, and how little most men will do when they don't have to
Walter Linn

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.
Albert Einstein