Today, I will talk about what it is when we say ‘Being Spiritual’. In my view, it is ‘A Journey Onto.’
Types of People
In this context, we can find two types of people.
- Those who are worldly or material, and
- Those who are Spiritual.
The former can be considered outward-looking people, and the latter inward-looking people.
The worldly or outward-looking people consider body and mind as everything. On the other hand, spiritual or inward-looking people are more concerned about the soul and the super soul.
Spirituality to the Modern world
What is Spirituality to the people of the modern world? Most tend to relate Spirituality with acts like reiki healing, faith healing, crystal ball reading, herbal therapy, aroma therapy, astrology, Vastu shastra, tarot card reading etc.
What is Spirituality?
Now, let me tell you that Spirituality involves a process of spiritual awakening. For that matter, you must have heard the dictum, ‘We are all spiritual beings having a worldly experience’.
On this worldly journey, spiritual awakening starts with the queries of ‘Who am I?’ ‘Where have I come from? And ‘where do I go after my death? These queries lead to realizing one’s spiritual self, the soul, as something different from the body and mind. In fact, most people, not realizing this reality, remain disconnected from the existence of a spiritual dimension.
Religion Vs Spirituality
Very often, many have a confusion between the terms religion and Spirituality. The word religion is derived from ‘Religare’, meaning reconnect with. The question then would be to reconnect with what or whom?
Obviously, with the Supreme Lord.
But most religions have gone haywire and have failed in helping their followers gain awareness about self and God. So, they exist as empty words merely propagating dogmatic beliefs and rituals. The religions of the world have catapulted into sectarian belief systems.
In fact, it has to be a process to connect to the Supreme. As the Bhagawat Gita suggests, there are ways of devotion, like Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, and Dhyan yoga.
The Yog systems are elaborately described in various scriptures, and they are processes directed towards connecting with or establishing communion with God. The very word ‘Yog’ means to connect.
So, Spirituality is an inquiry about the true self and the ultimate, incorporating the essentials of Cosmic reality and connectedness with all in the Universe and the cosmic consciousness itself.
Spirituality in Essence
Now, let us try to understand what Spirituality is. Spirituality is more of a buzzword in today’s world. When people call themselves spiritual, they generally project three things:
- A belief that there is more to the world than meets the eye, meaning more than mere material existence.
- Trying to attend to their inner life — to their mental and emotional states — to gain self-knowledge.
- Valuing certain virtues like compassion, empathy and open heartedness.
The most important thing is that Spirituality is looked upon in various ways with multiple definitions.
“While the West was busy exploring outer space, the East was busy exploring inner space.“
Dalai Lama
It is to be understood that Spirituality has relatedness to the soul.
Spirituality rhymes with the word spirit, the principle of life that animates the body of living things.
The word spiritual relates to the intangible spirit or soul, not physical nature or matter. Spirituality is a qualitative state of being dedicated to spiritual and long-lasting values contrasted with temporal ones. Spirituality is the holistic quality beyond the limits of the fragmentary outer mind. Our material mind is given to likes and dislikes, pleasures and pains, and we will never be able to touch upon that which is spiritual. We need to understand the cost and efforts that need to be put in to be spiritual in the true sense.
Spirituality & transcendental journey
Spirituality is the broad concept of a belief in something beyond the self. It may involve belief in a higher power, but it can also involve a holistic belief in an individual connection to others and the world.
Spirituality offers a worldview that suggests there is more to life than just what people experience on a sensory and physical level.
Instead, it suggests that something greater connects all beings and the Universe itself. It firmly believes in ongoing existence after death. It strives to answer questions about the meaning of life, how people are connected, truths about the Universe, and other mysteries of human existence.
Positive Attributes of Spirituality
Spirituality is a positive aspect of human life and is helpful for physical, social, and mental well-being. It helps develop harmony, peace and happiness. A spiritual person who feels affection for God shall get at the spirit of spiritual quality.
Spirituality has been a source of comfort and relief from stress for multitudes of people. While people follow multiple paths to find God or express their Spirituality, research shows that those who are more spiritual use their Spirituality to cope with challenges in life, reaping many benefits to their health and well-being.
Scientific evidence
Neuroscientific research shows that meditation, as a practice of Spirituality, brings about the growth of the brain cortex, marked by the increasing size of the grey matter and more gyrification. This could serve as a spiritual-physical evolutionary step for humanity. Meditation opens the doorway to changes and developments that we currently term spiritual but may be deemed normal, even basic.
To End
If some interest is generated, delve deeper into spirituality and develop a spiritual outlook.
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