Jesus Christ once said: ‘Man cannot live by bread alone.’ (Matthew 4:4) What Jesus meant was that material provision does not suffice. All bread does is sustain us physically. Further to this, one needs divine provision, or spiritual food. Without receiving such food, the individual cannot develop his or her personality.

The fact is that, in this world, everything has two distinct sides to it: the material and the spiritual. From the material things which surround you, you must be able to extract the spiritual content and, to this end, you have to develop your mind to effectively do so. Only then will you be able to garner spiritual or divine food. If material food maintains your physical health, then the divine content of material things develops your personality along spiritual lines. While physical food gives you physical health, spiritual food maintains the health of the non-physical part of your personality.

For example, let us consider water, which is a combination of two gases—hydrogen and oxygen. Although it is made up of two material elements, when it enters the human body, it becomes assimilated in it, thus giving it vital assistance in maintaining its functions. When you discover this affinity between water and your body, you provide yourself with spiritual food for thought, leading to the realization and appreciation of God’s wisdom, in that He created water – a combination of chemicals – in such a way that it is completely compatible with our bodies. Discoveries of this kind, made by observing the various material objects and events around you and then extracting the spiritual content from them, will give you unlimited solace and contentment.

Extracting the spiritual content from material things will give you the spiritual food to enable you to develop yourself as a spiritual person. If your earnest desire is to live your life as a spiritual person, you must learn the art of such extraction.

Source: Leading a Spiritual Life