Power of spirituality is underrated

There is this saying that goes – we don’t choose spirituality, spirituality chooses us. Have you ever wondered why some people are spiritual and some not? The answer is beyond the understanding of our enchanted mind. The meaning of spirituality has expanded and developed over time, leaving a lifetime expression. Spirituality is not a mere word or feeling but a broader perspective. It is a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, something beyond existence or something divine. It is a search for meaning in life. It is freedom from outward and inner influence. Are you free from your thoughts? Do you feel stability from within? Most of the young minds are unstable and the reason is outside and inner influence.

Being able to understand your inner thoughts which we often fail to do, is an achievement. But how frequently do we dive within to search for answers? Spirituality gives us room to balance inner thoughts with our physical existence? A constant flux of thinking about something that has not happened or happened in the past is beyond our control. But can something be done to accumulate our thoughts and wisdom in one place? Spirituality is the answer. 

Have you ever wondered what is the most difficult thing to achieve by your existing soul? The unstable mind will say it is maybe not having enough money or a luxurious lifestyle. If this fact stands true, I would say that I will give you all the possible luxury. However, I will ask you the same question again: what is the most difficult thing to achieve for your existing soul? Some might say it is happiness, but well happiness is a state of mind, it can be achieved in poor as well as in a wealthy family. Some might say that it is ending all the sorrow of life, well that is again perception of life. Some might consider your sorrow as an achievement. The deeper you will dive into your mind you will realize that mind has plenty of options. 

The answer is that the most difficult thing to achieve is freedom from your own captivated mind and thoughts. If we cannot free ourselves from our thoughts, every other achievement of being free will be pointless. What will happen, how will it happen, and when will it happen are the questions that give rise to our sorrow. We often find these yogic gurus influencing our lifestyle and thoughts. The reason is that they have understood the power of capturing the human mind. How they can understand what can influence and drive changes in the human mind is a long process. They have controlled their thoughts and achieved a sense of freedom from their mind. Through the attainment of the liberation of their mind, they can grasp the supreme power of captivating others’ minds. 

Often spirituality and religious beliefs are interlinked, shrinking the power of spirituality.  Although the two concepts are different, they often cross paths and are thus misunderstood. Spirituality does incorporate some elements of religion but it is a broader idea that makes it entirely different from the other.¹ I have seen people saying that since I am religious, I am also spiritual. No this isn’t true, religion is a specific set of organized beliefs and practices followed by a group or community. Conversely, spirituality is an individual practice and it has to do with individual wisdom of peace and purpose. Every individual can be on a different path of spirituality but not every individual can be on a different path of religious belief. 

While some people link their spirituality with their association with temple, church, mosque, or monastery, others may find spirituality linked to their emotional abundance, nature, or art.² Thus, spirituality is a personal experience and its definition varies from person to person. But try changing the definition of religion, try changing written rules of Hindu or Muslim religion – the result will be an assassination. 

I have brought up this discussion because I want you to just try and recall all the spiritual gurus. Do you recall any Muslim spiritual guru? It’s good if you have encountered any but in my vision, spirituality has been narrowed down to specific religions like Hinduism or Buddhism. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, is known to be a manifestation of God in Hinduism. Some Hindu texts regard Buddha as an avatar of the God Vishnu, who came to Earth to mislead beings away from the Vedic religion.³ Thus, ultimately spirituality further narrows down to Hinduism. 

The teachings of Buddha arise from sufferings around the world. According to him, the cravings always lead to dissatisfaction and ultimately sorrow. Whatever the human mind experiences – sorrow or happiness originates from the craving that we have kept in our minds. The craving for luxury defines our happiness and sadness. If we can achieve it, we will be happy, else we will be in deep sorrow. Ultimately we are captivated by our mind’s thoughts of achievements and success. The moment we achieve one of our targeted happiness we will look for something else and our target will change. Thereby, dissatisfaction from life will remain. Spirituality helps us understand and remove this dissatisfaction which we have built around ourselves from material things. The greediness of material things is a vicious cycle that is unattainable. Poor look for wealth, wealthy look for furthermore wealth, and the cycle goes on. In the process, we lose hope for peace, happiness, and learning. The only way to break this vicious cycle is to develop and grow beyond what your mind seeks, rather than rely upon your soul to strengthen your existence. 

Spirituality is not about finding a new path, but it is rediscovering your personality. It will be hard for some to believe when I say spirituality chooses us. Our encounter in life sets us on paths to understand and question why it is happening to me. There it is where spirituality plants its seed to further flourish its existence in our life. In this material world, unlike Buddha, we learn spirituality through our sufferings. The spiritual path is a journey of discovery within ourselves which leads us towards stability. Through spirituality, our psychic ability awakens. It not only determines our path but guides others whom we meet over the course of our journey. The moment we attach some meaning to everything which is happening around us, our fully grown mind stops thinking negatively. This spiritual awakening is a necessity of our era of gaslights and horse-drawn carriages. 

“Spirituality is a brave search for the truth about existence, fearlessly peering into the mysterious nature of life.”

– Elizabeth Lesser

References:

1. Page, W. (2020). Spirituality vs Religion. Retrieved 19 November 2020, from https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/spirituality-vs-religion
2. Page, W. (2020). Spirituality vs Religion. Retrieved 19 November 2020, from https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/spirituality-vs-religion
3. Gautama Buddha in world religions. (2020). Retrieved 19 November 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha_in_world_religions

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