The expression "spiritual food" has long been familiar to such an extent that people sometimes do not think about what is hidden behind this concept and is it really important to get it. Maybe there is some age or other limit beyond which the need for it disappears?
What is food in the usual sense, no need to explain. This is what nourishes, nourishes, provides energy for the growth and development of the physical body. Without it, the body will begin to weaken, ache and wither. A long lack of food leads to death. These are simple truths that no one needs to prove. But not everyone thinks that spiritual food means no less to the human person, consciousness, mental development.
What is spiritual food for?
If a person does not receive what is hiding under this concept, he does not develop, does not grow spiritually and, in the end, degrades. Nowadays, cases are widely known when children, due to circumstances, were isolated from society at an early age. Returning to society, the vast majority of them could not catch up with their peers neither intellectually nor psychologically. Sadly, the wonderful story told by R. Kipling in his "Jungle Book" is nothing more than a fairy tale.
"The Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling is also known in Russia under the name "Mowgli".
But even as an adult, a person deprived of spiritual food, the very need for it, is significantly inferior in its personal qualities to someone who has not stopped in spiritual development. A person whose needs are reduced to the formula "consume and multiply" is not too different from primacy.
Many people remember the phrase from the New Testament, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, " but not everyone understands its meaning. An interesting interpretation is given by Alexei Pavlovsky in his book "Night in the Garden of Gethsemane."
The book is an original interpretation of the most famous stories of the Old and New Testament.
"Beggars of the spirit" - those whose spirit is hungry, i.e. requires food. And for the spirit, of course, only spiritual food is suitable. It is these people who feel the need to grow spiritually, constantly striving for their own development, are able to rise to the true heights of the spirit.