True Wealth Through Service and Devotion
Quit spending
All your time and attention
Trying to get a life—
The one dealing in that coin
Will drive you into bankruptcy.
Each moment
You live in the Now
Is collecting a penny
From heaven.
Spending them
In service
Brings wealth
That lasts beyond the grave,
And a life
Precious beyond Price.John Harper
In the spiritual traditions of Sufism and the teachings of the Diamond Approach®, service is regarded as a path to uncovering the soul’s true wealth, often symbolized as the “pearl beyond price.” This metaphor represents the soul’s pure essence, a treasure of infinite value revealed through selfless service and devotion to one’s true nature.
In Sufism, service is seen as a form of love that purifies the heart and aligns one with the Divine.
Rumi’s words, “Let the beauty we love be what we do,” echo this sentiment, suggesting that true service expresses our deepest love and devotion.
Similarly, Hafiz captures the essence of selfless giving with his verse, “Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that; it lights up the whole sky.” This love, given freely without expectation, transforms the soul and reveals its inner pearl.
The Diamond Approach, articulated by A. H. Almaas in his book The Pearl Beyond Price, explores this metaphor in the context of spiritual development. Almaas describes the pearl as a symbol of the Personal Essence, the unique manifestation of our true self that emerges when we integrate our spiritual nature with our human experience. Through the love of truth and the practice of presence, the Diamond Approach guides us to discover this pearl within, leading to a life of true wealth and fulfillment.
The station of the pearl beyond price is so significant because it is not a matter of a state of consciousness or a state of being; it is rather the condition of the actualization of one’s realization in one’s life. Being becomes personal being, a complete human being living fully the life of objective truth. – A. H. Almaas
Both Sufism and the Diamond Approach emphasize that the pursuit of material wealth pales compared to the richness of a life of service and devotion to true nature. By dedicating ourselves to serving and aligning with the Divine, we cultivate a wealth that “lasts beyond the grave”—a wealth that is not measured in material terms but in the depth of our connection to true nature.
In this light, service becomes more than just an act; it is a path to discovering the pearl beyond price—a truly precious life beyond measure. By embracing the principles of Sufi love and the Diamond Approach’s commitment to truth, we can uncover the soul’s true treasure, one that enriches our lives and the lives of those we serve.