Along with surrendering one’s will and sacrificing one’s self, renouncing the world is one of three major ways to further one’s spiritual development.

Renouncing the world is not accomplished by rejecting the world but rather by loving the world. Loving it for what it is, as it is, not for what it gives one personally.

While not disregarding the ignorance, pain, and darkness in the world, renunciation recognizes and associates with the truth, goodness, and beauty of the world. One wholeheartedly attends to the positive in all spheres of existence.

Renouncing the world requires that one demands of oneself all the perfection and virtue one associates with the Divine, employing altruism, compassion, forgiveness, etc. in all personal and social aspects of one’s life.

Loving the world means living by values that result in one not having or needing what others have in this life. One’s character and life do not resemble that of the majority as one abstains from behaviors and activities that hinder one’s effort and purpose.

One demands oneself to be a healing force for all of humankind. One does not allow the abundance of ignorance and the dearth of love in the world to lead one to lament, judge, or reject.

Fear has no place in this love of renunciation, but rather is replaced by peace, hope, and faith. In this way, accepting with heart all that one knows, one transcends the world.

Loving the world in this manner grants a faith that one’s beliefs and actions, strongly guided by Spirit, result in all one’s needs and desires being met if they’re in service to the Divine, always in the moment or eventually in time.

Unencumbered by the rules of life based on deficiency and lack, one is granted patience in all matters, and joy in life’s little details. And in ways that would otherwise be unavailable, one naturally responds to the world in novel and positive ways that benefit all.

Unlike other love, this love is not used up but is limitless and never ending, and regardless of circumstance, brings forth even greater love in the world. And in this manner serves to create a new world.

In a logic that can only be described as spiritual, renouncing the world through loving the world results in one transcending the world, having one’s needs met, and bringing more of the Divine into the world.