Today we all know that capitalism is the most successful way by far adopted by any nation for its economic growth. This we can see by looking at western European and north American nations’ prosperity. This we can also see by looking at eastern European and other nations all over the world, including China, as they are adopting open market and capitalism. So one thing we would all agree is that capitalism, with all its shortcomings, is by far the best way for materialistic success.

Now what is in capitalism that makes it more successful than socialism or communism? Socialism in itself is a noble thought of seeing everyone in society as equal and trying to ensure equality of economic opportunity in the hope that this would minimize social injustice. But the basic premise of socialism is based on an assumption that all humans are equal in their ability so they should be treated equally. But the truth is farther from this. We know that all humans are not equal in their physical abilities. At least we can say that all humans don’t use their mental abilities equally and even all humans don’t have equal mental abilities. On the other hand capitalism gives opportunity to everyone to achieve as much as they can based on their own ability. Everyone works for oneself. On the basis of equal opportunity they achieves as much as possible. Employees work the best because they know if they work any less, then some one else would be promoted for higher post or even hired for the same post instead of them. In this way they all strive for one goal, which is working at the best of their capabilities. This in turn benefits companies. Companies make more profits. Expand or diversify. Hire more people and thus make another chain. Making the entire society economically strong. Companies work best under the impetus of the profit motive. In the course of pursuing profit, sometimes they swallow and crush some small companies and bankrupt some individuals. Still, on the whole society improves economically. Here, the point that I want to make is that capitalism encourages selfishness. Thinking only about our economic improvement. Some how that helps every one because every one is thinking of their own economic good.

How is the principle of selfishness going to help us for our spiritual growth? It is very simple. Start being selfish for your spiritual needs and improvement. An economically selfish person doesn’t care that the other one is poor. Similarly, a spiritually selfish person will not worry for some one else being bad or evil. Let us worry only for ourselves. Let us do good whatever we can, instead of looking for some one else who is not doing good in our eyes.

A very clear example of goodness today is from people of U.S. By a survey, (which is repeated time and again on national television with an advertisement) the average American house hold is $ 8,000 in credit card debt. This does not include their debt for their car or house or school loan. These people raised and donated millions of dollars for helping the victims of the incident of September 11. But no one in this country asked any financial organization to waive loans to those victims. The credit lending companies give credit to millions of people and make billions of dollars. If they wished they could have wavered the loans of a few thousand. But that may not be in the interest of those companies. The credit companies have a very big role in American economy and if those companies are not doing well economically, then it can affect the entire American economy too.

The spiritual selfishness helps us to worry only about our growth without being side tracked by looking at others. We are all connected. Today we see the connections economically and intellectually. Improving or slowing economic condition of one nation affects another nation to some degree. One discovery made by one person in one part of this world changes lives of people living in another part. Spiritual connection is subtler than this. Our every good or bad action today will bear a fruit. It will affect either me or some one else connected to me. It may even affect posterity.

Today, if we just start improving our selves then that will have its effect on the rest of the world. If everyone starts being spiritually selfish, there will not be any terrorist. Terrorists will not go on killing other people just because some leader thinks that a some innocent people should be punished. Those people will think about their own spiritual selfishness before becoming terrorist. Every one knows that no one becomes better by killing any one else. There will not be any one who will hate person of other faith. We hate only when we think that the other person is bad and we are good. When we become spiritually selfish then we will only worry about our spirit. Rest every one else will be the same. No better, no worse. There will not be any leaders who will spread hatred for any one else. Not even for terrorists. In the last month I have received so many forwarded “fun” mails, which actually show how much hatred is in the hearts of people for Osama bin Laden or Afghanistan. There has never been so much passion for anything else, positive or negative.

Spiritual selfishness comes along with love for others however good or bad they are, because we stop judging people. We will stop judging others because our first goal will be judging ourselves, which in itself is the hardest task. We will look for our own faults in what is happening today. We will correct ourselves to make a better tomorrow. Spiritual selfishness takes away all other kinds of selfishness from our heart and we start sharing every thing else. We will spread love to seek love. We will spread peace to seek peace. We will spread tolerance to seek tolerance. Our own spiritual selfishness will bring peace in this world. We will be living in a spiritually capitalist WORLD, not a society or a country.