Spiritual and material world. Spiritual world, material world

The Vedas say that there are two worlds - spiritual and material, and they are very different from each other. The material world consists of the illusory energy of God, and, in fact, is a reflection of the spiritual world, since here everything is the opposite, everything is turned upside down.

In the material world, the soul experiences birth, illness, aging and death of the body, but in this it is not so, because there are no gross material energies, therefore there is no birth, aging, illness and death. The spiritual world is composed of the spiritual energy of God, and there is no place for the suffering of material existence.

As soon as the soul enters the material world, it immediately begins to have problems. It makes no sense to list them, because they are obvious and known to everyone.

Why does the soul leave the spiritual world and come to the material? To answer this difficult question, one must understand the nature of the soul and the nature of God, as well as their relationship. In short, it is an integral part of God, and in the spiritual world it naturally serves God (the One). This can be compared to how individual parts of the body and its organs serve the whole body - this is a natural process of service in the name of the good of the whole organism.

But for some reason, it happens that at some point the soul has a desire to live not for the good of the whole organism, that is, for God, but to live for itself - for the sake of its own pleasures and pleasures. Since this is impossible in the spiritual world, and all the desires of the soul (according to the laws of God) must be fulfilled,.

Getting into the material world, the soul forgets its true nature (eternity, knowledge and bliss), God and its relationship with Him. Thanks to this forgetfulness, she can get the desired experience - to live for herself. For the soul, it is like feeling like God, albeit in an illusory world. We get into the material world in order to get this experience, get disappointed in it, and return back to the spiritual world.

The material world itself contains a unique mechanism for getting out of it, and this mechanism is called "disappointment and suffering." We constantly get disappointed, because in the material existence there is no real happiness, which the soul so strives for, and the soul cannot be satisfied with fleeting pleasures, since its true nature is eternity, knowledge and bliss (and only this can bring satisfaction to the soul).

As far as suffering is concerned, there is also plenty of suffering in material existence, and not only the above four. Other creatures, natural disasters and cataclysms, as well as our karma (the results of past actions) can also cause us suffering.

When the soul comes to complete disappointment and loses interest in material "goods", it also loses the material concept of life - the idea and desire to live for itself. This is a very favorable moment to begin to be interested in the beyond, to study esotericism and wisdom about the nature of the soul and God, and to engage in self-improvement.

Thus, a person comes to know that material existence is a disease, and spiritual practice is a treatment that ensures the return of the soul to the spiritual world.

Human life is intended for self-realization, and, knowing himself, his true nature, he gets the opportunity to return to the spiritual world, where there is no suffering, where he abides in harmony, eternity, happiness and knowledge - only this can bring complete satisfaction to the soul. Nothing in the material world can replace it.

The primary and main form of existence of all creations, which can be spoken of as something existing separately from the Almighty, are sefirot worlds Bria, Yetzirah and Asia. The category of created things also includes the light that fills these sefirot and bringing them life energy.

Spiritual formations representing the "bodies" of angels in the world Atzilut, are also like created entities. It is written: "... Even His angels He did not illuminate with the radiance of His own light" - and therefore they do not realize their absolute connection with the Divine source.

However, the "souls" of angels and people before their incarnation in the worlds Bria-Yezira-Asia they are on a different level of being and are not separate independent objects, representing entities that have retained the nature characteristic of the Divine emanation, which has undergone a strong reduction in order to form them from itself.

However, even after the souls of people descended from the world Atzilut into the physical world and put on the bodies of the first righteous, their nature did not change and they did not turn into independent objects. Therefore, at the moment when these people intended to sin, their souls left their bodies and thus prevented sin.

But despite the fact that the nature of human souls and the souls of angels is similar to the nature of the Divine emanation, their essence is not an exact copy of the essence of the Divine, since they are not endowed with the ability to turn "nothing" into "something". Only the Almighty is able to translate "nothing" into "something", while the relationship between these categories will not be of a causal nature.

In addition, it can be said that the action of the creative power of the Almighty is especially noticeable in the physical world, and all the factors that allow the creative power of the Almighty to unfold operate mainly when its potential and possibilities are revealed in the physical world at the base of the "earth" - and are revealed much more. more complete than in the other three, closer to the spiritual world, elements, more complete even than in the world of angels. For, unlike the “earth” foundation, thanks to which the vegetation cover of our planet is constantly renewed, when, as it were, “nothing” turns into “something”, all other foundations are not capable and are not able to turn “nothing” into “something” after the creation of the world. ".

By the word "nothing" we mean the potential ability with which the Almighty endowed the earth, to renew vegetable world. This ability is of a spiritual nature and is not a reality. physical world while the nature of plants is material; to turn the spiritual into the material is capable only of infinite creative force The Almighty, for which there are no barriers.

Despite the fact that animals are created and exist as representatives of a more highly organized form of being compared to plants, a person with the gift of speech is an even more perfect creature than an animal, nevertheless, animal world exists and feeds thanks to the vegetable world, and a person receives vitality from the two levels following him, which is also true with respect to the energy that feeds his mind and consciousness.

All this happens because the spiritual energy that flora and fauna carry in themselves is transmitted to them by light, which has a powerful force that allows it to return from a lower level of being to a higher one (its source); he starts from the lowest level of the world Asia, where the reflection from the reflection of boundless light - Ein Sof, - the embracing universe, is revealed to a greater extent than in the higher worlds. At the same level, the light of the ray of the limited light of the Most High, reflected from the bottom of the universe, is revealed, this was mentioned above.

Now the deep meaning of the sacrifices practiced in the Temple will become clear. higher angels receive "nourishment" from the souls of large and small cattle and birds, experiencing satisfaction and great pleasure. These souls ascend to the world of angels after the bodies in which they were imprisoned were raised to the altar for sacrifice.

It is no coincidence that the holy book "Zohar" describes such enjoyment of angels in the following words: "And they enjoy the basis and root of the souls of animals and birds associated with higher worlds, inaccessible to angels ".

These words will help the reasonable, if only he will delve into them, to realize how great is the significance of human activity associated with the realities of the physical world, because this is the ultimate goal of the descent into the world of human souls. As it is said: “One hour of repentance and good deeds in this world is more beautiful than all life in paradise”

Take a closer look at sea ​​wave. A lot of bubbles form in its water, which burst after a few seconds, completely disappearing in the abyss. Something similar happens to human life if it is misused.

Simply put, if one uses his life NOT for spiritual advancement and service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then his life is no more valuable or permanent than a temporary bubble of the sea.

“First of all, take care of your own spiritual life, because you will have to leave everything else in this world ...”

Therefore, in all the Vedic scriptures, the importance is constantly spoken of. The fact that you need to devote as much of your time as possible to the eternal and sublime, and not to the temporary and passing. More about being and matter.

Temporary in the material world

Temporary is all the material nature that surrounds us. The Vedas say that not only the Earth or solar system temporary. Even the Universe ceases to exist after a while and is subject to destruction. This is material nature – it is temporary. There is not a single material object that would be eternal in the material world.

Therefore, living beings who consider matter to be their true essence are doomed to tremendous torment and suffering. This is due to the features of our true nature - nature: eternity (Sat), knowledge (Chit) and bliss ( Ananda - spiritual bliss, happiness, joy.

">Ananda). That is why our thinking and consciousness strive for constancy, while the material world is temporary, i.e. one that brings constant change. Those. if you are young and successful now, then soon everything will be the other way around - you will learn what old age and illness, failures and defeats are. If you are now rich and lead a carefree life, be sure that this is not for long...

Even if you invest your fortune as efficiently as possible, then, without caring about your sukriti, or spiritual piety, sooner or later something will happen, due to which you will lose everything you had. And human history is rich in similar examples, when a noble and rich person, having exhausted his spiritual piety, for some reason lost everything that he had been saving for so long and painstakingly.

“... the so-called conditions of life are a kind of foam bubbles that arise before us ... and due to a lack of knowledge about ourselves, we spend the valuable energy of human life in a vain search for permanent conditions and comfort,
which are simply impossible in this temporary and changeable material world" -

In the Vedas, we learn a lot of details about life, and this is also mentioned in other scriptures. From the Vedas we learn that we are the spirit soul. We have just learned this, it is a Vedic revelation. We are not this material body, we are spirit soul.

We also learn that we are not really of this world. There are two worlds or, let's say, two creations, to make it even more clear. There is a material creation, we call it the material world - it consists of many universes, and in each universe there are many planets. And we are on the same planet in one of the universes. This planet is called Earth. So this is the material world.

But there is another world where everything consists of spiritual and not material energy. The only spiritual energy that is present in the material world is ourselves. Look at this room. In essence, everything is material energy - the building, all kinds of things, chairs, tables, our bodies, our minds - this is all material energy. The only spiritual energy is ourselves, the smallest spiritual sparks. Even if we collect all these sparks and put them together, we will not be able to notice them - they are so small. So, the material world, in essence, consists entirely of material energy, in which spiritual sparks flicker. And the spiritual world is completely composed of spiritual energy; there is no material energy in the spiritual world. And we come from the spiritual world.

And now we have come to the material world. When we come to the material world, everything changes. We put on material bodies. Every spirit soul in the material world is covered by a material body. Now we are covered with a human body. But remember that the soul is life. And where there is life, there is personality. So there are many forms of life: all animals, birds, amphibians, insects, plants, and so on. etc. All these forms are the bodies that cover the spirit souls, just like us, there is no difference. We were in those bodies, now we are in the human body. When we come to the material world, we get many coverings, costumes. We don't stay very long in one suit. We put on a human costume for several years: 10, 15, 20, 6 months, 90 years, but it's fast. We take off this human costume and put on another costume: a dog costume, a cat costume, a bird costume, a tree costume, a demigod costume. And every time we think: “It's me. I am human". Next time: "I am a dog." Next time: “I am a seagull”, etc. Of course, it's all an illusion, it's not true. But this is an illusion in which we live. And the material world is a world of illusions.

When we come to the material world, not only do we get our material bodies, but in the material world there are also laws of material nature that govern the material world. As soon as we enter the material world, we are under the control of these material laws. Consciously or not, whether we like it or not.

Just like when I enter this country, I immediately fall under the influence of Russian laws. I must have a visa to enter this country. And this is the Russian law that governs me. And if I come to customs and there is no visa, they will say: “Where is your visa?” “I’ll say, ‘I don’t have a visa. I don't want this visa, I don't like it. It costs money and is hard to get. So I just came here." - They will tell me: “I'm sorry,” they will shove me into the plane and send me back.

I am under control of this and can't do anything about it. And in every place it is so: everywhere there are laws that govern us. So on a large scale, there are big laws that govern us, these are the laws of material nature. And there are little laws, if I have enough money, maybe I can change them. I give a bribe: “Well, yes. Everything is fine". But big laws don't work that way. “Listen, I'm rich! I don't want to die, I'm rich! I don't want to end it, I'm rich. Let me pay you to stay young.” That doesn't work. Have you seen rich people? They also grow old and die, get sick: “Doctor, doctor, look, I have so much money. Save my life!!!" "I can't do it, sorry!" Not only poor people, but also rich people get into accidents, various catastrophes.

How Princess Diana, so famous, so rich, died just like that, she was crushed like a butterfly on a highway. “Hey, what are you? You don't know who I am? I am Princess Diana!” And everything is like: “Oh, she died !!!” And if some poor guy dies: “Well, think about it. He's nobody, she's somebody." No, everyone is equal. These laws cannot be bribed. And there are many such laws. One of these laws is called the law of gravity, you probably know. He controls us. You can say, “I don't believe in gravity, in attraction. There's no such thing". - "Good. Climb onto the roof of this building and jump off. Then you will know that there is attraction, and you are under its control.

A hard-to-saturate human being has a constant need for certain conditions and circumstances. Otherwise, his life turns into a suffering existence and loses a sense of harmony and comfort. What are material Examples and features, as well as the opinion of scientists on this matter, we will consider below.

Distinguish between social, material and

• Social - dependence on communication, contact, realization in society.
• Material human needs (biological) - ensuring the preservation and continuation of life.
• Spiritual - the realization of the instincts of worship and reproduction. Creative realization, dependence on getting pleasure.

Material - examples of real and imaginary needs

Real - needs that are caused by a sincere independent desire of a person.

• Breath.
• Water.
• Shelter.
• Creative hobbies.
• Religious beliefs.
• Sleep, relaxation of the body and mind.
• intimate needs.

Imaginary - dependence on the opinions of others and the resulting needs:

• imposed hobbies;
• imaginary beliefs;
• inclinations and imaginary abilities.

Material human needs - positive examples

A person needs certain conditions for a comfortable existence. This does not mean that he cannot live without warm water in the apartment or without a hot breakfast. Certainly he can. But what will be his moral state, how much his psyche will suffer from this, this already depends on internal spiritual needs, which are closely interconnected. If a person needs little for happiness, then his material world is limited to a healthy body and a cheerful spirit, but, alas, such people practically do not exist.

The usual average for comfortable life some conditions are required.

• Comfortable housing.
• Nutritious varied food.
• Various clothes, utensils, devices and tools that facilitate his life.
• Means of transport.

Material needs of a person - negative examples

• Addiction to narcotic and mentally clouding substances.
• Dependence on drugs.
• Dependence on the expensive attributes of life, due to the social need for self-realization in society, but resulting in the physical problem of the constant pursuit of more and more improved material goods.

Primary and Secondary Needs

The American psychologist A. Maslow divided the material needs of a person into primary and secondary.

Primary:

1. needs without which life ends;
2. needs that provide a person with confidence in the continuation of his life, insuring against death.

Secondary:

1. social - contact with people, mutually comfortable relationships, manifestation of mutual care, love, interests;
2. prestigious - the realization of a person's ego, the assertion of his personality in society, exaltation, growth, respect and recognition by others;
3. spiritual - the realization of spiritual impulses that are in no way connected with other people and contacts with them (worship, creativity).

The material needs of a person accompany him from the first seconds of life to the last. Only the mother's womb is able to organize for the fetus the totality of its material needs. Leaving it, a person is faced with a constant struggle to provide for his own and dependencies. Otherwise, he simply ceases to live fully. Even if his life is maintained in the body, without comfortable material goods (due to spiritual and social needs), the collapse of the human material world occurs.