As humanity steps into the abyss of existential crisis, the search for a holistic and spiritual lifestyle increases manifold. Instead of being the essence of life, it has merely boiled down to a lifestyle fashion. People are leading a spiritual life meaning to gain holistic social autocracy.
More and more practices revolve around crystals and aromatic meditation chambers, in other words, the external rituals and routines. Businesses that run on seemingly spiritual things are booming as they sell glass beads in the name of crystals. Then what is the point of following such a spiritual path? Do we ever contemplate What is spiritual life? Why is spirituality important?
To get to the point of
spirituality, one has to understand, “what is spirituality?” In the
Oxford dictionary, spirituality is defined as follows, “Relating to or
affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.”
Ancient practices, texts, and scriptures from civilizations and tribes far and
wide have portrayed spirituality as realizing and accepting the eternal
truth.
How is spirituality different from religion?
Many a time, spirituality
is confused with religion. Spirituality and religion are not
the same things. Let us understand the difference between spirituality
and religion? The importance of spirituality is
unfathomable. Spirituality is a much higher version of self-actualization,
whereas religion is just a mere way of reaching it. Our religion gives us a set
of practices and rules that are necessary to achieve spirituality. Merely
performing rituals and following blind beliefs does not make one spiritual.
A spiritual lifestyle is a comprehensive understanding of the
reasons behind performing the rituals.
One must understand that
all religions have come from spiritual practices and beliefs. Unity, respect,
and amiability are the three traits that have been stressed upon by various
religions around the world. To make this argument more concrete, let’s take an
example from the past.
History is evidence. In the dawn of civilization, there was no religion. For a long time, humans have worshipped and respected nature. They understood their needs and acted with purpose. The purpose was survival. They understood the importance of staying in a pack and formed civilizations with mutual respect, unity, and amiability. Once these arrangements fell into place, the purpose behind survival got fulfilled. Humans were free from the insecurity of questionable survival. It was then when the mind went astray. Instead of focusing on survival, the focus went on comfort and power. This shift of focus led to wars where bloodshed was rampant. The two precious virtues – unity and amiability were lost. Though we live in concrete houses that light up at night, yet our conscience is in darkness. Though we follow all rituals today, we have lost respect for our fraternity.
We are not united. We hug people out of courtesy but frown upon them behind their backs. A spiritual lifestyle, however, demands actions to be done from the soul. What is spirituality for spiritual people? Spiritual people mean what they say and do. It is known to them that half-hearted efforts bear no fruits. And this is what humanity is experiencing today. Half-hearted efforts lead to broken outcomes.
How do you treat the path of spirituality?
To understand the true
essence of spirituality, an individual needs to understand the
conceptualization behind it. But the question here is, ‘How to be
spiritual?’ Human life and body are an amalgamation of spirituality
and materialism. Both of these require a perfect balance for a human to live an
ideal life.
Today, we as humans are
focused on the material aspects of life. These material aspects might include riches,
status, education, comfort, or romantic partnerships. In pursuit of these
aspects, many of us have become machines made out of flesh and bones.
Therefore, this blog has dedicated itself to the essence of spirituality and
its importance in human life.
Most people think that a spiritual lifestyle can only be followed by being an ascetic and meditating in the woods. This concept is only partially correct. A spiritual lifestyle only demands acceptance and mindfulness at its peak. Many people have followed these aspects and have realized that finding your spirituality has never been easier. We shall focus on both aspects, one after the other. The first aspect of spirituality is acceptance. If you want to be spiritual, start by accepting the way things are. Considering life as a journey and nirvana as our ultimate goal, spirituality is the optimum path to reach it. Often, we are so engrossed in the scenery, roads, potholes, and turns that we forget where we’re supposed to be.
Let’s take an example from
our daily routine. You are waiting at the bus stop to take a ride…
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