A Pope of Hope
From Inner Poverty to Inner Prosperity
Pope Francis so beautifully, along with his ardent emphasis on our responsibility to care for the Earth and make choices in line with equality and fairness, also exhorts us to find our joy in life through true, deep connection rather than through fleeting, superficial possessions and technology.
He gave a beautiful teaching last year listing specific ways to find happiness. None of them was connected to incomes, possessions, or material prosperity, and none of them was dependent on being or becoming Catholic. His suggestions included things like:
1. Live and Let Live 2. Spend time in nature and respect nature 3. Make sure to have leisure time with your family and definitely take Sundays off 4. Give, serve others and work for peace 5. Don’t complain too much and let go of negativities 6. Don’t preach your own religion too strongly
Additionally, he emphasizes so beautifully, not a withdrawal from modernity, not a renunciation of technological advancement, but simply a sincere awareness of what technology offers, and what it doesn’t. He reminds us, “Nobody is suggesting a return to the Stone Age, but we do need to slow down and look at reality in a different way…..When media and the digital world become omnipresent, their influence can stop people from learning how to live wisely, to think deeply and to love generously. In this context, the great sages of the past run the risk of going unheard amid the noise and distractions of an information overload….. True wisdom is not acquired by a mere accumulation of data….which eventually leads to overload and confusion, a sort of mental pollution.”
As we travel the world, and as the world travels to Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh, we have found that inner poverty has become a tragic dis-ease, equally worthy of attention as outer poverty. So many in our “developed” nations suffer not from lack of food, nor lack of water, nor lack of shelter or education. Rather they suffer from lack of meaning in life, lack of connection to something higher, deeper, and bigger than the fallible, ephemeral, separate physical body. Their bellies are full (perhaps overfull) but their hearts and lives are empty. This is where Pujya Swamiji reminds us that it is just as important to “fill our selves” as to “fill our shelves,” and that the ‘innernet’ is even more important than the internet!
