Distinction Between Good Life and God-life

Wevery often fail to draw a distinction between good life and God-life or Divine Life. Many of us think that: "Well, I am leading a good life. I am happily married. I live a clean life. I have no bad habits.. I don't cheat anyone. I earn by the sweat of my brow. What more do you want?". Essentially, these are good people. They are certainly superior to the rogues and cheats and scoundrels of this world. They follow certain ethical codes. They pass for respectable citizens. All this is good. All these qualities make a good foundation. But, a foundation is not a building. It is not enough by itself. The superstructure, the building, has to come up.

Goodness is not Godliness. Goodness makes for a good life in this world, but it will not bring spiritual salvation. The so-called good people are often selfish people tied down to their families and close friends. Their heart is still constricted. They are still desperate for immediate pleasure. They have some vague ideas about the path of ultimate good, but are afraid to step on to the journey, afraid to pay the price of the hard and ardous journey. They have their fears about the sacrifices they will be called upon to make if they step onto the spiritual path. They cannot reconcile themselves to thoughts of making charity, loving strangers and enemies, controlling anger and jealousy and things like that.

If a person wants to register spiritual progress in life, he should first have this misunderstanding in his mind cleared. A good life is inadequate. What these people mean by 'good life' will be found to be, on close inspection, just a 'non-evil life'. It is negative goodness. This alone will not do.