Prout Research Institute

4th fundamental principle of Prout

There should be a proper adjustment amongst these physical, metaphysical, mundane, supramundane and spiritual utilizations.

Purport: While promoting individual and collective welfare there should be proper adjustment amongst the physical, mental and spiritual and the crude, subtle and causal factors. For example, society has the responsibility of meeting the minimum necessities of every individual but if society arranges food and builds a house for everyone under the impetus of this responsibility, individual initiative becomes retarded. People will gradually become lethargic. Therefore society has to make such arrangements so that people, in exchange for their labor according to their capacity, can earn the money they require to purchase the minimum necessities. In order to raise the level of minimum necessities of people the best policy is to enhance their purchasing capacity.

The law of adjustment further stipulates that while taking services from a person who is physically, mentally and spiritually developed, society should follow a balanced policy of adjustment. If only one of these three capacities – physical, mental or spiritual – is developed in a person, society should take the one that is developed. If both physical and intellectual capacities are sufficiently developed in a person, society should adopt the policy of adjustment, which takes more intellectual service and less physical service, because intellectual power is comparatively subtle and rare. If all three capacities – physical, mental and spiritual – are found in one person, society should make greatest use of their spiritual service and least of their physical service.

The greatest service to the cause of social welfare can be rendered by those who have acquired spiritual power, and the next service by those having intellectual power. Those having physical power, though not negligible, cannot do anything by themselves. Whatever they do is done under the instructions of those with intellectual and spiritual power. Hence the responsibility of social control should not be in the hands of those who have great physical capacity, or in the hands of those endowed with courage, or in the hands of those who are intellectually developed, or in the hands of those with worldly skills. Social control should be in the hands of those who are spiritual aspirants, intelligent and brave all at the same time.

Ananda Sutram 1962