Temporary Accommodation for our Souls

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Sometimes humans live in rented or other temporary accommodation. At times they live in a home they own. Even though humans spend effort in making their temporary homes comfortable, they do not make any large investments on it. If they own a home, they spend much more effort in maintaining and developing this latter property.

Humans that realize that their physical bodies are a temporary abode for their souls and that their soul is something permanent that lives in numerous bodies over many lifetimes often spend more time on assets connected with their soul rather than this temporary body. These assets are the experiences, memories, knowledge, evolution and karma that belong to the soul more than the body.

Our family relationships, wealth, property, and even name are something that belongs to our bodies rather than the soul and these are left behind when we leave this body. It is good to maintain the body just as we maintain our temporary rented homes, because if a home is not comfortable then the occupant suffers and deteriorates. However it is not wise to give total attention to the temporary home at the cost of our permanent assets. That is what spiritual practice is about -- first understanding ourselves and then giving priority to our permanent assets. Our physical assets of this lifetime must be regarded as a temporary convenience or means for this development only. Giving the physical assets more importance then they deserve is bound to lead to disappointment in much the same way as happens if a person makes large investments on a rented property only to find that he has to leave it behind eventually.

Let us strengthen our permanent assets while not ignoring temporary ones i.e. looking for improvements in the world in a way that do not compromise the soul, beginning with our bodies, the planet and the systems man has put upon it, while also looking for ways to strengthen our soul directly.

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