The Importance of the
Seeking Spirit
One who does not possess the seeking spirit, is spiritually blind:
he is unable to see spiritual things, even if
they exist all around him.
Discovery starts with seeking. If you are a seeker, you are bound to reach your goal. This is a law of nature and, as such, is immutable. It is impossible for anyone who is imbued with the questing spirit not to achieve his goal. Indeed, this is a divine law, which was expressed thus by Jesus Christ: ‘Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.’ (Matthew 7:7) Conversely, it is impossible for anyone to make a discovery without being possessed of a questing spirit.
What is seeking? Seeking means activating your mind, your eyes, your ears. When a person activates these faculties, he develops in himself the quality of perceptiveness, so conditioning himself that whenever he finds what he wants, he immediately takes possession of it.
If a blind man is thirsty and a glass of water is placed in front of him, he will not drink from it. He is incapable of perceiving it. The same is true of unseen realities. One who does not possess the seeking spirit, is spiritually blind: he is unable to see spiritual things, even if they exist all around him. Therefore, before spiritual finding comes spiritual seeking. First of all you have to make yourself a spiritual seeker, only then will you be able to discover those spiritual things, which are always in evidence around you.
The seeking spirit must be underpinned by sincerity. What is sincerity? Sincerity is freedom from deceit, falsity and hypocrisy. It is a pre-condition for the success of the seeking spirit. If you have the desire to emerge as a spiritual finder, you must develop this quality of sincerity. Anyone who wants to make himself into a spiritual person, must first of all turn himself into a sincere person, for sincerity is the price to be paid for spirituality. In this world nothing can be attained without paying its price.
A human being is like the onion which has several layers to it. Just as the core of the onion can be reached only by removing these layers, so can man’s personality be reached only by removing the multiple layers that bit by bit enshroud him when he lives in society. If you are in earnest about wanting to achieve spirituality, you have no option but to rediscover your core personality by divesting yourself of these layers. Once you have done so, you will find sincerity. And, where there is sincerity, there is spirituality. Sincerity and spirituality go hand in hand. Sincerity is like the seed and spirituality its fruit.
Spirituality is the feature in all human beings that is most to be desired. It makes life meaningful in that it spurs you on to lead a purposeful life. It enables you to live with normalcy of mind even in abnormal circumstances. It saves you from wasting your time and energy on frivolous pursuits, thus ensuring that you become a healthy member of society. Spirituality is so precious that one must be prepared to pay any price for it, no matter how high. It is a goal worthy of attainment. But this can be achieved only by making sincere efforts. No one can achieve spirituality automatically.
Every person is born twice. The first birth is the physical one, in which his parents are instrumental. The second is his spiritual birth, which a person attains by his own efforts.
