Not by Bread Alone
No amount of wealth and fortune can supply the needs of the human soul. Therefore, the only true answer to the quest for a sense of spiritual fulfilment can be found in turning to God, the Lord, and Creator of everything.
Men of fortune become subjects of envy for the people around them. They are considered fortunate for having succeeded in achieving worldly power and position. However, do those who have managed to reach the top necessarily feel this is so? Possibly not. Wealth is not all that man needs. It can, at best, serve the body’s needs, leaving the soul to starve. The feeling of something missing spiritually disturbs people, even if they have gained it in material terms. Feeling thus deprived, they feel as helpless as an ordinary man does. Faced with an inner void, a yawning gap in the soul must be filled; it leads man to turn to something or the other for a sense of plenitude.
This fact is borne out by the news item which appeared in The Times of India on January 1, 1985. Despite all the luxuries at his command, Mr Alfred Ford, the famous Ford Motor Company owner in the U.S.A., felt something missing in his life. His soul was not at rest; it was hankering after something else. In this state, when he was introduced to the Hare Krishna movement, he felt attracted to it as it seemed to answer and satisfy the cravings of his soul. He joined the movement. Afterwards, he married a Hindu girl, Sharmila Bhattacharya, associated with the movement. The marriage ceremony took place in one of its centres in Australia. On this occasion, a photograph was published in the newspapers where he was seen in seamless clothes. Here is a part of the interview he gave with the AP correspondent:
“I am not a car. However, like anyone else, I am a spiritual soul,” he said. “I am only a Ford by name,” he further added.
No amount of wealth and fortune can supply the needs of the human soul. Material things do not become part of one’s being. The human soul, therefore, cannot rest in things beneath Itself. That is why, amidst plenty, one is plagued by loneliness. A man always seeks something to compensate for this loss, filling the inner vacancy, which can become a part of his being. Often a man is unable to understand this and sadly goes astray. The only true answer to this quest for a sense of spiritual fulfilment can be found in turning to God, the Lord and Creator of everything.
