UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality is often confused with religion and yet it is everything but that. Simply speaking Religion is an organized faith aiming to reach spirituality to every person irrespective of his/her education level, wealth, caste, creed, nationality.

The need for religion arose when the people on earth encountered the challenge of living in harmony under the growing pressures of everyday survival. The prophets delivered the religious scriptures to people in various parts of the world, in different languages and under different names. That is how we have so many different religions although the original messages of all are the same.

Some rituals were developed to make the rules of living universally accepted for the believers of the particular religions. And if we can leave apart the excesses and fanaticism, religion per say is a means to help us get in touch with our spiritual.

However, as science grew on the world, and as some aspects of religion were made into superstitions for personal gain of a few, man gradually became distanced from his own spirituality.

Spirituality simply put, is WHO WE ARE. It is our real essence our truth that we are spirits/souls having human experience for certain purpose. So when we talk about spirituality, it is US. And since there is a purpose for every birth, our life circumstances are charted out to be conducive for the fulfillment of our purpose.

Our grooming from the time we are born, however, takes us further and further away from our true essence and forces us to believe that we are our education, status, assets, promotions and relationships. Hardly any attempt is made in homes or schools or in society at large to help us get in touch with ourselves and our purpose.

The path of life with its relationships in myriad forms comes with its share of conflicts and the resulting pain. The pain is simply our opportunity to learn our lessons and be closer to our purpose. In the absence of this understanding, we deal with the pain using the same tools that caused it in the first place. The result is more confusing and painful as it may take us further away from our purpose and healing.

How does Understanding Spirituality help?

Connecting to Our spirituality goes beyond the process of acquiring knowledge on Spirituality. This is the reason why only reading up on the topic does not help one to apply it in real life. Knowledge is all around us and we can acquire it in any form we are comfortable with. However, there is a gap between acquiring knowledge and assimilating it in the form of wisdom. It is this wisdom that flows through our veins and makes us to apply our knowledge to everyday living. No knowledge by itself is a rocket science, but the understanding of that knowledge and its assimilation to our core is what produces action.

That is why we all need a Guru, a guide to initiate us into our own spirituality. Don’t mistake me when I use the word Guru. A guru can be anyone who can help us touch our core. He/ She can do it by direct teaching or by creating indirect experiences for us. The Guru thus can be a friend, a parent, a perceived enemy, a child as much as a saffron clad “Sadhu”. Spirituality is about awareness, awareness to our surrounding, to what is happening to us and with us every moment. It is about being in a state of receiver of wisdom every moment. It is about being open and aware.

Thus for the one who lives in awareness and have faith, Spirituality will eventually:
1. Introduce you to your divine self.
2. Help you see the real reasons behind your problems and pain.
3. Guide you to focus on what is really important
4. Direct you towards attaining more lasting happiness than fleeting pleasures.
5. Get you started on the way to our spiritual growth.