How To Relate God, Kings and Wealth

Early men were nomadic hunters and food gatherers. They were free, strong and had no concept of wealth. Gradually, they came to know cultivation and kept domestic animals in large numbers. With this, the concept of property or wealth came into existence. People lived in settlements and tried to protect their wealth from attackers. They lived in constant fear in order to protect themselves. Out of this fear, the concept of God and King came into existence.

1. Kings protected wealth and life. A few men used their leadership qualities and muscle power to try to alleviate people's fear of insecurity. They collected taxes, kept an army and protected people from invaders. They were called kings, and kings in turn defined their areas of influence, called territories. Kings led luxurious lifestyles and for this, they needed more and more wealth. They invaded other territories for wealth, and as a result, people remained as insecure as before. With the advent of kings, a new class of people appeared in the society whose work was to rule over the people, and it continues today in the form of democracy.
2. Then people prayed to God for protection and solace. People saw that kings on earth sometimes failed to protect them. So they searched for an unseen but all-powerful divine being. They named him God. They believed that God could protect them from all attacks and could give solace at times of distress. However, this belief has not been materialized. Throughout history, millions of people have been slaughtered in the name of religion and politics. But some people took advantage of fear psychosis and people's faith in God. They established different sects and religions based upon this faith. They became religious leaders and established firmly image and fear of God in the minds of people. They established different forms of worshiping God and started different rituals and traditions. As the traditions and rituals were deep-rooted, these religious leaders established their dynastic privilege and rule over people.
3. Politics and religion helped each other. Kings took the help of religious leaders in order to consolidate their power and rule over the subjects. In order to attack other territories, they spread religious hatred. By helping rulers, religious leaders established themselves firmly. They described kings as the representatives of God or even incarnations of God. They composed epics in order to glorify kings. Most religious texts are full of descriptions of God and kings that prove whatever the present author wants to tell.
4. The body is the temple of living God. The cream of Indian spiritualism is found in the Upanishads. The Upanishads describe that this soul (atman) is Brahman. Brahman means 'the greatest.' It is similar to the description of 'Most High' found in the Bible. So, soul is the greatest thing in the world. Again, the Holy Bible describes that the body is the temple of living God. Simply, God lives in the body of a being. But how does God live in the body? God lives in the body as Self or the soul of a being. At death, when this soul departs, the body rests as mortal remains. So the duty of every man should be to realize this living God within which is unborn, eternal, smaller than the smallest, but greater than the greatest.

Spiritual men who are free thinkers shouldn't fall prey to the dictates of either rulers or religious leaders. They should engage themselves in the quest for truth. Truth has existence and existence means life or being.