WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY
Anybody who is asked this question will feel that it is a very simple subject. It is about the Spirit, the Soul - what else? While it surely is about the Spirit or Soul, very few people actually understand the true meaning of Spirituality, how essential it is for us to achieve our Ultimate Goal of life and what a key role it plays for us to be peaceful and blissful. Let us discover the true meaning of Spirituality.
It is the study about the Spirit or the Soul
While Spirituality is known to be all about the study of the Spirit, the Soul or the Atman, it is a lesser-known fact that the very life itself, that is within us, and the power of our breath - is the Spirituality that we are talking about. The moment there is no breath, there is death. This happens when the Spirit inside us, the Soul, the Atman leaves us.
While this seems simple, there are many unanswered questions about the Spirit. Where does the Spirit go at death? When and how does the Spirit enter us at birth? What exactly is this Spirit that we are talking about? Is it the life force that gives us breath or is it some magical power that is inside our body? When we try to understand the body composition, most people feel it is made up of the body, the mind, and the Soul or Spirit. But while we can see the body, and feel the presence of the mind, we are unable to feel the Divine Presence of the Soul. We know it is there, within us. We realize it is the life force that keeps us alive, but where it is and how it functions is unknown to most people.
Spirituality - a shadow of humanity
In fact, Spirituality is a shadow of humanity, wherever there is humanity, there is Spirituality. If there is no Spirituality, humanity ends. So, it seems that Spirituality is the cause, humanity is the effect. Humanity exists because of Spirituality. If we remove Spirituality, there will be no humanity. While this is easily said and seems to be understandable without any complication, it is very difficult for one to realize its true meaning. This actually means we are nothing other than the Spirit. While we may look like a body-mind-ego complex, in reality, we are the Soul that is embodied in the prison of the body, mind, and ego. But we don’t realize this fact. We don’t realize that Spirituality, in fact, is not the shadow of humanity, it is the very essence of it, it is the cause of it!
Consider the ocean and a wave - the ocean is the cause, the wave is the effect. It is not that the ocean exists because of the wave. Rather the wave exists because of the ocean. So also, it is not that the Spirit exists because of us, but rather we exist because of the Spirit. If there was no Spirit or Soul, we would not have existed.
Understanding Body, Mind, and Spirit
It may seem that we are a human body and a mind that has a Spirit. In reality, it is something else. We are a Spirit that has a human body and a mind. When we started our journey as a fertilized human cell or a zygote, we had no body. We were just energy, the energy that is the Spirit or the Soul. This Soul that started its journey after fertilization, evolved and grew up to develop a body around it. In fact, every cell of the over 30 trillion cells in our body, has the Life Energy in it. It is not that the Spirit exists just in the heart or the brain. It is everywhere, from the top of our head to the tip of our toe. The Spirit, the Soul or the Atman is in every cell of the body.
Science has discovered that while we may seem to be a mass of flesh, each cell of the human body is broken up into molecules, atoms, electrons, neutrons, protons until we reach the tiniest particle known as Quarks. Even these tiny subatomic particles are not matter, but energy as discovered by scientists in their laboratory test of Quantum Physics where they discovered the ‘WaveParticle Duality’. Each cell of the human body, according to science is nothing but energy.
What is this energy? It is Divine Energy that flows in each cell of our body, a true miracle created by the Creator. We need to start a quest to truly understand our human body. Let us realize that we are not what we seem to be. We are embodied Souls that are far more powerful than what we have ever imagined. We need to interpret and understand what we are not. Thereafter, we will come to realize what or who we truly are.
Realizing what we are not
To get to the bottom of the root and to understand who we truly are, we must start with the understanding of what we are not. Are we the gross physical body? How can we be the gross body that is constantly changing? In about every 7 years, science tells us that every cell of our body is reborn. That means, if somebody has crossed 49 years of age, they have already changed their body 7 times. This is the 8th edition of them, so as to say because the physical body has changed 7 times as its cells die and regenerate. So, while there is no doubt that we have a body, we are definitely not the body, just like we have a house but we are not the house, we have a car but we are not the car, and we have clothes but we are not the clothes. We may wear clothes, live in a house or own a car, but that does not make us become any of these. Therefore, we are not the body, although there is no doubt that we have a gross body.
Then what are we? Are we the mind? If you study carefully, you will realize that you have seen your eyes, your hair, your hands, and your legs and even an x-ray of your heart and brain. But have you ever seen the mind? The mind is an imposter! It does not exist in reality but it stops us from realizing that it is an imposter. It is our biggest enemy! ME, the Mind along with the Ego stops us from the realization of the Truth. The mind is a rascal! If we try to find the mind, we can’t. The mind is a bundle of thoughts that appears to be the mind. Once we realize that the mind as such does not exist, we will transcend it.
Our quest will make us realize clearly that we are not the body that we appear to be. We are not even the mind that proclaims, “This is me.” Then who are we, what are we?
Inferring what we truly are
We realize that we are not the body that we appear to be. We are not even the mind that is so vibrant because if we try to find the mind, we realize there is no mind. But there is no doubt that we exist. Don’t you know that you exist and that I exist? If we introspect deeply, then we realize that we are the Spirit, the Soul, the Prana or the Life Energy that is within. This is Realization by Inference.
There are things that cannot be proved, like the Law of Gravity. While we are absolutely sure the law exists, it cannot be proved until we experience it and we realize that such a law is in existence by inference. We can only intuitively know it by realization of the Truth or by inference. Therefore, we know by inference we are the Soul, the Atman or the Spirit.
The Life Energy within
If we are the Life Energy within, not the body and mind that we appear to be, then what exactly are we and how do we realize the Truth? The fact is that we are energy and that this energy is a part of the universal cosmic Divine energy. We are the Soul, the Spirit, the Life Energy that arrives at birth and departs at death. This Life Energy or Soul is in each of our cells. Sadly, most of us don’t realize it. Spirituality is all about this realization. It is known as selfrealization and then God-Realization.
Spirituality is going beyond Religion
If one is interested in the subject, then one must spend more time contemplating Spirituality, eventually renouncing all the myth, the rituals, the dogmas and the superstitions of Religion. To become Spiritual, one does not have to be highly religious. Many people think that we need to pray a lot, spending time in the temple, mosque or church. They don’t realize that Spirituality is about realization. It is about opening our ‘real eyes’.
Spirituality is about questioning our belief system, starting from our Religion, our scriptures and everything that is connected with our faith in God. Spirituality is about asking questions and investigating what is unknown until we realize the Truth. It is being passionate about God and Liberation and nothing else.
While a Spiritual person lives in this world as a normal person, the fact is that a Spiritual person evolves beyond body, mind, and ego to be the Atman, the Spirit or Soul. The Spirit is a dot of the cosmic power. It is a manifestation of the Divine. Those who realize this Divine Truth are liberated from all misery and sorrow and are unified with the Divine. Thus, Spirituality is far beyond Religion. While Religion is just a kindergarten, Spirituality is graduation. It not only makes us believe in the Divine but makes us realize that we are nothing but Divinity, a manifestation of God. We need to realize this Truth, and in fact, this is the Ultimate Goal of our life.
Spirituality is the study of the Soul,
It takes us towards our Ultimate Goal.
It makes us understand we are not ego, body, and mind,
And then it helps us realize the Truth and God we find.