There are many religions and all represent institutions with organized practices and structured belief systems. All the members of a religion subscribe to these as a unit.
There are custodians in all religions who occupy positions of leadership who practice certain rituals based on the belief system and thereby set the foundation for rules of how life should be lived by the followers of the religion.
Religion emphasizes practical implications for everyday behaviours and adherence to the characteristic beliefs, rituals and practices. Many religious establishments are also given to distinctive dress codes or attires. All believers of a religion are committed to following the guidelines laid down and also strictly observe the rites and practices. This could involve attending to temple worship rituals, attending church services, observing sabbath or observance of Ramadan etc.
Spirituality involves dealing with self, like knowing inner self and soul. In spirituality, one develops one’s own beliefs and practices for understanding the purpose of life based on self-enquiry. One involves in spirituality to attain higher goals based on personal experiences and self-reflection.
Spirituality is a universal pursuit involving personalized unique experiences. There is an element of interconnectedness that forms the essence of spirituality.
In its original sense there is nothing bad in religion but the staunch dogmatism that has crept into religion is the one that makes it anathematic.
However, spirituality is wider and more abstract than religion.
Spirituality: Individual experience(s) in pursuit of the Universal Truth.
Religion: Group of people brought together by their common faith or
beliefs about their object of worship.
Every religion of the world preaches that its beliefs and story are the perfect ones and the correct one. Spirituality has the ability to assimilate the best of any religion and develops its own sets of beliefs. Spiritualists believe that everyone’s ultimate truth is the same though there might be some differences. Rather than the differences, spirituality concentrates more on the quality of the message. Every religion will focus more on the story like the Hindus take to the mythological stories related to their deity of worship, the Jews focus more on the story of Moses and his commandments or the Christians concentrate on the life and happenings in the life of Jesus. As against this, spiritualists will pick on the broader message and on the higher principle.
In spirituality, there is an interconnectedness not only with different human beings but also with all the creatures and the universe as a whole itself. It is the same consciousness in all beings though manifested in different ways. In the path of enlightenment, all humans are partners.
There is evolution of one’s spirituality through self-study and personal experiences. As against this, in religion or religiosity, the belief system remains predefined. The religious authorities pass on the changes in ideology and observances to the members of the faith as enforcement.
An unfortunate element of religion is the need to be obedient and the followers are required to steadfastly adhere to the scriptures or what is taught to them by the religious leaders. Following one’s own instincts is discouraged in religion but is expected to follow what is told sans questioning.
Spirituality requires one to listen to one’s inner voice and strive to live a good life. It does not confine people to fixed ideology unlike in the case of religion and allows one to undertake the journey towards the truth by paving one’s own path. There is therefore a process of continuous evolution on the path of spirituality. The path of spirituality essentially justifies the saying “Rolling stone gathers no mosses”. As against this, religiosity is like a stationary stone that gathers mosses.
The experiences in the course of spirituality are entirely personal. On the other hand, in being religious is bringing belief on other’s experiences.
It is possible that certain spiritual traditions might offer theories and practices but they are not given as absolute must to follow. Rather they are provided as tools that may be used by the spiritual seeker on his or her path.
In religion and religiosity, a follower accepts as truth what is defined by the religion or its leader. And with a stamp of authority of God, it becomes a dogmatic truth unchallengeable and the correct one against all other faiths of belief. When we talk of conflict and strife between various religions or faiths, it is essentially because of a conflict of ideological belief systems with each belief system propounding its ideologies and projecting itself as the correct and the best. The concept of reward and punishment is another thing that drives he followers to staunchly follow the rituals and for keeping faith in the avowed belief system. Spirituality does not subscribe to this concept and essentially looks forward to the reward of self-satisfaction and inner peace.
The fear of punishment and going to hell or purgatory is the main motivating factor for people to live life according to the dictates and tenets of a religion.
Spiritualism and spirituality on the other hand encourages the seeker to concentrate on the positive things and on the concept of love towards the Lord. They are goaded to perform actions based on what they feel is right rather than looking at the consequences.
Spirituality is purely attuned to karmas rather than on created threat of punishment. In this, one believes that self is solely responsible for one’s future possibilities and is more of a cause and effect phenomenon. This befits the saying “As you sow so shall you reap”.
Often, we are faced with the question “Are you religious or spiritual?” In answering this question, one must ask oneself whether one is relying on the rituals and belief systems of a religion/faith at times of strife and tribulations and at times of waning faith? Do you look towards an organized institution for defining beliefs for you or follow your own instincts and follow what you want to believe? Answers to these questions shall determine whether you are religious or spiritual.
There is no limit to the field of exploration in the field of spiritualism. The spiritualist always strives to develop and evolve their belief system based on personal experiences in tune with their objective pursuit of Ultimate Truth. In contrast, a religious follower arrives at one’s belief based on the experiences of the founder of the religion/faith as told to or narrated in the form of parables.
Spiritualism motivates a spiritualist to pave one’s own path on the journey of enlightenment. It is essentially a path of self-discovery on a borderless pursuit. It leads to an awakening towards self-awareness and the awareness of the Universal Principle. One, on a spiritual path, becomes aware of the fact that all humans are more than the visible gross body and is actually a piece of consciousness organized as a soul with infinite potentials. Spirituality prepares one to see the Ultimate Principle within self by cleansing the mind and body and making it fit for the Lord to be ensconced within.
So, the essential difference lies in the fact that while a religious person looks outward for guidance and support, a spiritual person looks within for answers and the truth.
Spiritual people are like bending trees which being flexible are able to adapt and survive even under extremely powerful wind or storm unlike an unbending tree which gets broken or uprooted.
Conclusion
Though related, religion and spirituality have moved much apart. Unfortunately, religion has lost its spiritual purpose and got lost in the externalities of belief, ideology, rituals and pursuit of limited divine values or truth. It has got lost in investigations of right and wrong, reward and punishment etc. and ended up with clashes of differing ideological faiths. Spirituality on the other hand has involved itself with inward investigation of self and the Universal Truth.
Enquiry
- Who am I?
- What is the purpose of my life?
- Where have I come from?
- Where would I go after I leave this body
These are not the questions that are asked by followers of organized
religions.
