One must strike a balance between the material and spiritual aspects of life

Spirituality! The word itself creates a lot of inquisitiveness as well as mystery in the minds of people because there is no single, widely agreed definition of spirituality that’s available to those who want to seriously pursue it. Traditionally spirituality has been defined as a process of personal transformation by religious ideals. Since the 19th century spirituality is often separated from religion, and has become more oriented on subjective experience and psychological growth. It may refer to almost any kind of meaningful activity or blissful experience but without a single, widely agreed definition. Hence under such a confused scenario, to grow spiritually in a society that is defined by power, money, and influence is almost a herculean task. Today, modern-day electronic equipment, gadgets, and tools as well as entertainment stuff

through radio, TV magazines and of course the Internet have seemingly predisposed many of us to confine our attention mostly to our physical needs. As a result, our concepts of self-worth and self-meaning have become muddled and confused.

So the question that arises here is, how can we learn to strike an ideal balance between the material and spiritual aspects of our lives? Indeed a tough question that almost every individual living on this earth has been facing since the time he/she was born!

Usually, when it comes to spirituality, people think of god, religion, rituals etc. For example, a person folding his hands before an idol in a temple thinks he is spiritual, though his mind wanders in several ways, even while he prays to God. That is why the modern generation feels that practicality and spirituality do not go hand in hand. Hence, they consider spirituality as impractical. However, we need to understand that spirituality is a way of sharpening your mind and hence raising your effectiveness to a much higher level. It is knowledge of the self, its relationship with God, the purpose of one’s existence and the way to achieve that purpose or goal. But again there is a question that a lot of people raise: why at all does one need to be spiritual? What’s so wrong with being materialistic instead of being spiritual? Well, the answer to this is simple, it’s a matter of will and one is free to choose how and what he/she wants to be. But we should not forget the fact that at some point in life, everyone tries to be spiritual willingly or circumstantially/ incidentally. This happens a lot of times when one wishes to forget all the materialistic things, the physical details of people, the luxuries of the world and everything physical & just wishes to relax and be with oneself in peace, love and harmony.

A spiritual person always remains content with the self and devotes his time not to material pursuits but tends to remain in the company of the divine thereby experiencing true love, peace and happiness which are more lasting than material attainments. Such a person will see everyone as souls; and be full of love for every person in this world regardless of one’s religion, country, gender and other physical traits. He would always remain peaceful, no matter how people and situations around him would be because being peaceful is being the true self and being spiritual. When we understand the above definition of a real spiritual being, we will be spiritually awakened and enlightened & get directly connected to the Supreme who will lead us to the path of self-transformation which would further lead to world transformation. So, let’s embark on this journey of becoming a ‘Spiritual Being’ through self-realisation & introspection.

(The writer is a spiritual guide and a popular columnist; views are personal)