Constructive use of the universe’s great resources can make life worthwhile, writes AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI

This exploitation is in the positive sense, i.e. for making good use of it, not exploiting the way we are presently doing by harming our planet. We have been provided everything for this purpose. God, Himself, the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent is available to us. Yes, we need to link with Him first in the prescribed ways, which God has set out in bonafide scriptures. If we bond with Him, then, sky is the limit of what all God can do for us. I have written about this many times earlier in my articles. So, I won’t repeat myself here.

Then, there are gods and goddesses, who control the divine network. This is all-encompassing, better than the cell network. Divine forces are aware of what all we do and keep track of them. Accordingly, they reward or punish us. The system is perfect as it works on the guidelines set by God, who oversees the whole thing. God does not interfere in the working of the system except when He wishes to help/reward someone deserving such favour, because God is the ultimate authority for everything. He also incarnates sometimes to punish miscreants besides rewarding good people and doing so many other things like instructing as He did in the Bhagavad Gita.

The third important resource we have is our human body — the topmost species. This is very rare and should be taken full advantage of because only in a human body, higher objectives can be achieved. For that we have been provided higher awareness than what is available to lower species. We also have higher intelligence than animals. Our minds are also superior if we use them properly. We have the facility of scriptures left behind by God. His dear devotees have done a lot of work on them; we can really benefit from them.

This is not all. There are other human beings who are teachers, gurus, friends, etc. who can be extremely helpful to us if we approach them the right way. We should never forget the material nature, which provides everything material we need. Combined with material knowledge, we are well and truly blessed to make the best possible use of our opportunities.

What all can we achieve? The most important thing to do is to make enough spiritual progress to become free from the cycle of painful birth and death. One can go to the spiritual world also where one gets Company of God Himself, and does not have to be in this predominantly miserable world. Then, there are higher planets like heaven which provide very high class enjoyments. Not that we don’t have enjoyments here; we do unless we succumb to lustful ones and suffer their consequences. For this, one needs to develop soul consciousness, which really helps in not getting bemused by all the harmful material attractions available here in plenty. One can achieve a lot of material success like wealth, fame, power, etc. These satisfy but they can also take us backwards if we are not careful. And if we act foolishly, we lose our most precious peace of mind, never mind bliss which is also available to us. Unfortunately, a large % makes the wrong use of all the resources available to us and suffers.

We have to make the choice. By proper use of our intelligence we can do that. Yes, there are difficulties galore. Due to our past indiscretions, we may have been born in unfortunate circumstances like being poor. But that does not condemn us; we can alter our situation by the proper use of what facilities are available to us. Many do this successfully. Unfortunately, there is another group that has been born in fortunate circumstances blessed with many resources, especially sharp intelligence. But they choose to make wrong use of what is available to them and spoil their lives indulging in lustful enjoyments. What, then, is the conclusion? Be smart and make the right choices and almost nothing is beyond us. Yes, these things take time but as souls we have no shortage of time; what we do in the present life gets transferred to the next.

Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com