Your Key to Financial Freedom: The Virtue of Altruism

Altruism is the key and power behind prosperity and sustained abundance. To be altruistic is not just being generous at the financial or material levels, but also at the spiritual, mental, emotional and energy levels and in a more unconditional, unselfish way. At first, people are generous with some hidden selfish intentions in the back of their minds -- even subconsciously. This is excusable and understandable in ordinary people because they are still 'spiritual children,' but when the heart is developed, as in more advanced spiritual leaders like mystics and spiritual gurus, the emotional instinct of being altruistic is already a habit. These more altruistic people express generosity as a sense of duty or a natural responsibility to others, humanity and the world.

Altruism is expressed naturally by advanced practitioners, Saints and Sages because of a long-standing habit of generosity. Abundance in life is not only measured in financial and tangible material assets, but also in many intangible ways like good health, happiness, peace of mind, smooth-sailing projects and life's fulfillment.

There is invisible prosperity gained through the habit of altruism. It can be called good luck or good karma of entitlement. The good karma generated through generosity can be converted and harvested through different channels. It is a matter of where this good luck or karma of abundance will go or defining how it will be received.

Good luck and the ability to be entitled to good things go to the people who work for them. There are different levels of expressing generosity and altruism, starting from physical and material levels. When people are financially generous, they tend to become wealthy. Financial and material prosperity are usually the result of not only hard work, but also generosity and abstention from stealing and unfairness. Hard work is not enough to become successful and prosperous or to sustain abundance for a long time. There is also a need for intelligent disciplined work. Intelligent disciplined work equals hard work in a well-organized manner with right timing, plus the good karma of entitlement.

The speed of achieving goals and removal of obstacles is directly related to the amount of karmic entitlement available to the spiritual practitioner.

The inherited prosperity of many wealthy families and lineages was earned by their ancestors who practiced some of these principles of entitlement. But when their descendants cease to be generous, the flow of prosperity stops. Much inherited wealth in families and corporations eventually fades away because of this. Therefore, it is wise to pass to the next generation the virtue of altruism as the key to sustained abundance. Islam and Judaism tend to implement the law of tithing or appropriating a percentage of income for donations to the needy. Most of their members uphold and apply this principle of giving regularly, and this explains why many are super-rich and continue to enjoy abundance.

Taoism and Christianity also encourage altruism in their membership, but not with as much strict discipline as Islam and Judaism. Today, many businesses and wealthy people are becoming more generous, appropriating large sums of financial support for the needs of the world. They practice philanthropy not just for the benefit of tax exemptions for their donations, but also because they feel a sense of responsibility for human development.

Many spiritual teachers recommend donating an average of 10% of your net earnings. Although charity begins at home and in the neighborhood, it is recommended to extend generosity globally.

In the business world, the companies that are supporting community projects as part of their corporate culture are the most successful, wealthiest organizations today.

People who will be enduringly wealthy or who will sustain their abundance will be those who practice altruism. This is the key to sustained prosperity, and it is the formula for good luck and entitlement.

The virtue of altruism is one of the 8 key virtues to live your greatest life. To learn more about the virtue and the other key virtues, read From Success to Fulfillment.