Being Spiritual

It is often said that the world we live in teaches us infinite things that we must learn from it. And as far as I have heard, 

• Precision, punctuality and commitment should be learned from Germans. 
• Etiquacies or mannerisms and perfection should be learned from England. 
• Then business and salesmanship, one should learn from Americans. 
• Teamwork from Japanese. 
• And spirituality, human values, and compassion should be learned from India. 

Of course, technology has made this whole world a global village, and so, to make our coming generation so-called "all-rounder", we must learn all these qualities so that we may convey them the same in future. 

Spirituality: An Overview

Our body is made up of carbohydrates, fats, lipids, amino acids etc., but our soul, on the other hand, is made up of peace, enthusiasm, positivity, happiness, energy and all these incredible values. Anything that further energises and nourishes the liveliness of our consciousness is spirituality. Spirituality helps in shaping the nation in the sense that it develops self-respect in a person and it expands one's knowledge and vision. 

Voyage of Spirituality

For hundreds and thousands of years, spirituality has guided humanity. Our ancient history has "great rishis" who after intense meditation realized the supreme truth and eternal knowledge, which they composed into hymns of the Vedas. Countries like Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, and Indonesia still follow the ancient ideals of Rishi Agastya. Then why do we Indians hesitate to go for spirituality? I know most of you will say that spirituality has ruined these days in India and all. Not favouring spirituality, I would like to ask you a question, is there a good politician and a bad politician? No! But some politicians do have bad records. So, every field has some bad people who blemish the name of that field and some good ones, who take its name to the heights. Likewise, if spirituality has been ruined due to some faulty people, it's not because "spirituality" is bad, but it is due to their individual selfishness. 

Religion And Spirituality

Religion is more about collecting a specific group of individuals to fulfil the purpose of teaching them human virtues like kindness, love, honesty, justice, forgiveness, brotherhood etc. The basic principle of all the religions is almost the same, which can be learnt by reading epics like Ramayana, Quran, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib and more such books; but it somewhere diverse people on the basis of their own traditions, clothing, ways of worshipping, their own different gods etc. 

Spirituality, on the other hand, is considered subtler than that of religion as it is more focused on an individual. It is not bounded to some specific religious groups. The purpose of spirituality is nurturing mindfulness or consciousness by meditating, doing breathing exercises, chanting etc. It actually defines the purpose of life which is not just a craving for external fun, but it is also about inner peace and joy.

Spirituality: A Tool to fight against Terrorism And All Sorts Of Negativism

It is shameful that the land where great rishis like Kashyapa, Lord Buddha, Maharshi Patanjali, Mahavir, and Ashtavakra were born; where great teachers like Chanakya were born; where the kings like Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka who spread highest spiritual ethics were born; in fact, the land itself, where the spirituality was born, is suffering from the negativism like corruption, bad politics, crimes, terrorism etc.

 As per the stats of the Global terrorism index, 2019, India stands among the top 10 countries that have suffered the most due to terrorism. Today, all kinds of negativism, including terrorism, are happening at a larger scale because some people believe that they'll reach heaven by creating hell for thousands of other people. Another reason behind this is extremism. And if people will practice spirituality, love and compassion, then for sure, extremism won't be there and therefore, terrorism could be controlled to an extent.

The need for an hour: Spirituality

I once went to an exhibition where I was supposed to stay for 6-7 days with my friends. My own friends and teachers couldn't get the logic behind my sitting and meditating. They were like sitting somewhere with eyes closed seemed more like a waste of time and it is surely not for the people who were go-getters. Successful people didn't have time to meditate. Seriously!!?

Meanwhile, I will say to all those who have not yet embarked on this journey within themselves, they have no idea what you are missing out on... There's no comparison of this outside world with the inner one. And I personally, will suggest you, that please do yourself a favour by learning meditation. And if you already know, then do practice it every day. It is an awesome way to blossom and spread your aroma of positivity to others. 

Woody Allen once said, "Comedy is tragedy plus time". Give yourself some time and you will soon be able to laugh with all your being all over again!