Simple living, high thinking is a well-known formula. But it is very rare to find someone who sincerely follows it in letter and in spirit. Although it seems to be very simple, why is it that people fail to follow it?

The reason is that this seemingly—simple formula requires great sacrifice—possibly the greatest sacrifice. Most people are not ready to make this sacrifice. And so, they do not follow, although it is the greatest—actually, the only—secret of success.

What is simple living?

Simple living is need-based living.

We all have some needs, and we seek to fulfill them. Our needs are limited. The problem arises when one doesn’t remain satisfied with one’s needs being fulfilled, and, instead, gets caught up in greed. Unlike need, greed has no limit. If one starts chasing unlimited greed, one will never be content.

Simple living means living according to limited needs, and not according to unlimited greed. Simple living is a safeguard from all kinds of distractions. It results in saving of time, energy, money and other resources, which can be put to optimum use, for one’s development.

Distractions lead to destruction of life. Today, people are surrounded with distractions— shopping, outings, movies, reading useless novels and everything else that is part of the entertainment culture. Most people are wasting their lives in this way. Intellectually, they are dwarfs. One cannot discuss any serious subject with them. They know only about their desires, their fantasies, the things that give them pleasure, their comforts and luxuries. They have great knowledge about these things, but not about serious subjects of life and death.

Unlike need, greed has no limit. If one starts chasing one's unlimited greed, one will never be content.

Everything that is more than a need gives some temporary pleasure or comfort. But in the long run, it leads to deviation from the right path. It distracts one from the goal. Hence, it is very important that only needs be fulfilled. Everything other than need is greed. And satisfying greed can give, at best, only temporary pleasure.

Islam is a religion of simplicity. A believer should lead a simple life. The Prophet of Islam laid great stress on simplicity. There is a hadith, according to which the Prophet said that simplicity is part of faith.

Things of comfort, outings, entertainment opportunities are not to be looked at as ‘allowed and forbidden’ we need to understand them as distractions. And distraction is a giant killer of progress and a major obstacle in one’s development. It is an unwise step. The reason being that when one indulges in these distractions it leads to a waste of time, energy and every other resource. Given that we have very limited resources, we cannot afford to waste them on distractions.

High thinking means to think beyond one's desires, transcending surroundings and immediate attractions. It makes a person wise and safeguards one from going astray in the jungle of trivialities.

Simple living, therefore, is not a mere moral or ethical formula. Rather, it is a key principle for a successful life. It is a safety device from all kinds of distractions. And saving oneself from distractions ensures that time, money and energy is used in a better way to attain success in this world and the next, after death. So, simple living is the only sensible way of living. All other ways of living are simply disastrous.

And what is high thinking?

High thinking means to think beyond one’s desires, transcending surroundings and immediate attractions. It makes a person wise, and safeguards one from going astray in the jungle of trivialities. People’s minds are generally entangled in trivialities. They don’t think about the serious issues of life and death.

Why does this happen?

It is because such people fail to develop their minds. Only someone with a developed mind can be safe from getting bogged down in trivialities. When mind is occupied by trivial matters and desires, when time is wasted in amusements like reading useless novels and watching movies, the development of the mind will not take place. This will lead to failure to achieve the purpose for which God has sent human beings into this world.

The greatest achievement in this world is intellectual development. The Creator has blessed us with a mind. It has great capacity. But all these things are in the form of a potential. It is for us to unfold this potential of our mind, to turn this potential into actual. The greatest task for us is to focus completely on developing our mind.

Now, the question arises: How can we develop our mind?

The mind can be developed through study, through intellectual exchange on serious matters, and through thinking and contemplation. These are all tools for intellectual development of the mind. In the short span of time that we have in this world we simply cannot afford to waste ourselves in matters other than intellectual development. This is what the concept of high thinking is about.

Simple living makes one a wise person who can manage resources in a proper manner.

The very first word that was revealed to the Prophet was iqra, which means ‘to read’. So, reading is very important in Islam. This was the first lesson that was revealed to the Prophet. Reading and study of serious books written by great thinkers, great scholars, great minds, lead to learning great things, and this will enhance the intellectual development. There is a hadith report, according to which the Prophet said to seek knowledge even if one has to go to China. The seeking spirit is the most important in Islam. Only a seeker will try to find the Truth.

Simple living and high thinking are interrelated. High thinking is a result of simple living. Without simple living, there is no high thinking. A truly wise person, a genuine scholar, necessarily leads a simple life.

Another aspect of simple living is that it conduces to good health— mental and physical. If we conduct a survey, we will find that people who enjoy good health have adopted simple living. This is the secret of the good health of healthy people. Simple living is an integral part of good health.

Simple living is also a natural way of living. Everything in nature is simple. It is free from complications. So, simple living means natural, complication-free living. Nature loves simplicity. Every person must follow his own nature. Simple living and following nature are one and the same thing.

Simple living opens the door to all kinds of success. Good health, wisdom, true joy, in fact every kind of goodness is hidden in simplicity.

Happiness lies not in comfort, in luxury, but in simplicity. All those who have adopted simple living are living in happiness.

Simple living, high thinking is related to the art of de-stressing. All stress and tension is a result of not following simplicity. It is the easiest remedy for de-stressing. It reduces all anxieties and negative thoughts, because when there is simple living, there is no hate, revenge, anger, lust, and stress. And so, those who adopt simplicity in their lives will be in complete peace, tranquility and be blessed with a stress- free life.

This is by no means an exaggeration. One needs to experience it to be convinced of its benefits. There is no doubt about it at all. Simple living, high thinking makes a person a good, valuable and positive member of the society. It enables one to contribute towards the betterment of mankind. One will have enough time for worship, for remembrance of God, for reading the Word of God, and for engaging in conveying the message of truth to the whole of mankind. This type of work requires dedication, and dedication requires simplicity. All the prophets and their true followers made this work their focus in life.

The concept of simple living, high thinking is relevant in every aspect of life. It applies to one’s personal life as much as it does to one’s family life, social life, religious life, national life and professional life. It is the best art of living. All of us need to manage our lives. The art of life management is every person’s need. Based on experience, one can say that simple living, high thinking is the ABCD of the art of living, of the art of life management. Without adopting this principle, one cannot manage one’s life successfully.

Simple living and high thinking are interrelated. High thinking is a result of simple living.

All great people throughout history have followed it, including the Prophet of Islam. The Prophet is a model for us to emulate. His life is a model in every respect for us, including his simple living and high thinking. His lifestyle, his residence, his clothes—everything was very simple. He was able to do the great things he did because he led a simple life, saving himself from all kinds of distraction and dedicating himself to his mission.

To achieve true success in life, there is no option but to practice simple living, high thinking. Some people take spirituality as a mystery. Spirituality is not a mysterious discipline. There is no mystery in spiritual life. Spiritual life is nothing but simple living, high thinking. This is the simplest definition of spirituality. Spirituality is a science, like other sciences. When one adopts simple living, high thinking, the result will be a transformed personality- and this is spirituality.

Spirituality ought to have the highest place in life. It is very simple because spirituality is interwoven in nature. It isn’t something that is imported from outside. So, when simplicity is adopted the innate spiritual potential begins to unfold. It makes the inherent spiritual potential begin to express or actualize itself. This is the gist of spirituality. Spirituality is not some mysterious discipline. It is a scientific discipline. It can be defined in scientific, logical and rational terms. The above statements are based on experience from personal realisation and not based on bookish knowledge. Adopting simple living, high thinking will make one a spiritual person.

It is very important that one knows what true spirituality is. There are some false kinds of ‘spirituality’—and one needs to be careful to avoid them. Scientific spirituality is what one should believe in. It is based on intellectual development, on the unfolding of one’s own potential. But this requires simple living, high thinking, which enables to bring out the spirituality that is hidden inside.

The greatest achievement in this world is intellectual development.

The Prophet was a spiritual person—not in a mysterious sense, but in a scientific sense, in the Islamic sense. One will discover this if one studies the life of the Prophet of Islam. Once this discovery is made it will give conviction. The inner content of Islam is spirituality. According to the study of Islam spirituality is the gist of Islam, not in a mysterious sense, but in a scientific sense.

Some people take Islam as a political system. But this is wrong. Islam is not a political system. It is a spiritual system. Islam begins from spirituality, from spiritual experience. This is the crux of the religion of Islam. All those who take it as a religion of violence in the name of jihad and political revolution do not know anything about Islam.

Islam is a way of the spiritual life, based on simple living, high thinking. Simple living, high thinking is an integral part of Islam. The Prophet said that simplicity is part of faith.

Thus, simplicity is part of Islam and the source of success both in this world and in the Hereafter.