I think most people in the world are associated with some religion and consider themselves religious. Many of them think that being
religious means being spiritual, but I think that’s not true. According to me, these two things
are totally different from each other, they were supposed to go together but somehow it didn't work out. Originally most religions have regarded spirituality as an integral part of religious
experience, but somehow it didn't work that way. Religion today has become more like an organized institution, it is managed by a set of people who try to make sure that its followers follow certain paths and are loyal to certain beliefs and systems. Fortunately concept of spirituality is
not claimed by any single religion, maybe the reason is one can not convert spirituality into an organized institute. If people follow
certain rules, and believe in certain scriptures, their claims, and descriptions of God
mentioned in those books then they are considered to be associated with that particular religion, but there are no certain rules or rituals to become a spiritual person.
Spirituality is an inner path or journey enabling us to discover the true nature or essence of our being, it doesn't follow any rules, it's a very personal experience, and it means something different for everyone. We can divide people based on their religion as we have given different names to different religions based on their origin and beliefs, but we can not divide people based on spirituality, they are either spiritual or not, and there are no different categories in spiritual experience. So, one thing is very clear spirituality is very different compared to religion, and it's not associated exclusively with any particular religion.
Spirituality is an inner path or journey enabling us to discover the true nature or essence of our being, it doesn't follow any rules, it's a very personal experience, and it means something different for everyone. We can divide people based on their religion as we have given different names to different religions based on their origin and beliefs, but we can not divide people based on spirituality, they are either spiritual or not, and there are no different categories in spiritual experience. So, one thing is very clear spirituality is very different compared to religion, and it's not associated exclusively with any particular religion.
Religion is an institution established by humans, it's a more social and organized structure where a group of people tries to follow an assigned path with the hope of relating to the sacred (divine) or God (supreme entity). This assigned path is often derived from some book or set of books that form the basis of that particular religion. Spirituality is a chosen path but normally people don't choose their religion, they acquire it or sometimes it's even forced on them. Spirituality is something found deep in oneself, it's different for everybody, it helps us to realize our true nature whereas religion makes us a part of a particular group, and helps us to get group identity. Religion can help in initiating the search for spirituality but it's not the requirement for being spiritual. Spirituality can be found in anything that we love deeply, it can be music, sports, writing, religion, science, social work, or any other thing that we like from the bottom of our hearts. Whenever a person gets totally involved in their passion they can feel deep spiritual experience. Whenever Lata Mangeshkar sings, Sachin Tendulkar bats, Michael Jackson dances or Amitabh acts I am sure they must be undergoing a deep spiritual experience that's why the results are so phenomenal. Whenever we do anything with total attention and dedication, it can be reading, studying, worshiping, singing, or any work we love we can get spiritual experience. A spiritual person can be religious but a religious person doesn't need to be spiritual as I said these two are totally different things.
Normally being religious is associated with certain rituals and acts, one has to follow certain rules and guidelines whereas one can experience spirituality in anything, almost in anything we are passionate about. Our spirit is not bound by anything, not by religion, age, or any situation, it's a vast and free entity, difficult to remain constrained. There is no set formula to achieve spirituality as different people can experience it in different ways, but one thing is sure that spiritual person won't hurt others, they won't kill others for their spiritual experience. Spirituality and violence can not go together, both are totally opposite to each other. A person doesn't need any qualification or training to get the spiritual experience but definitely we need to attain a certain level of maturity to understand it. It can be experienced at any age but not everyone realizes it.
Developing our spiritual life can offer many benefits to us. It can help us to gain a sense of purpose and also can help us to understand and discover our passions in our personal, professional, and social lives. Spirituality can mean different for different people, it can be knowing one's self, feeling connected to others, having a sense of purpose in life, doing what one loves to do, meditating, etc, many acts that can yield spiritual experience to us.
Thanks for reading and your comments are welcome.
(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing at vvt1974@gmail.com)
Normally being religious is associated with certain rituals and acts, one has to follow certain rules and guidelines whereas one can experience spirituality in anything, almost in anything we are passionate about. Our spirit is not bound by anything, not by religion, age, or any situation, it's a vast and free entity, difficult to remain constrained. There is no set formula to achieve spirituality as different people can experience it in different ways, but one thing is sure that spiritual person won't hurt others, they won't kill others for their spiritual experience. Spirituality and violence can not go together, both are totally opposite to each other. A person doesn't need any qualification or training to get the spiritual experience but definitely we need to attain a certain level of maturity to understand it. It can be experienced at any age but not everyone realizes it.
Developing our spiritual life can offer many benefits to us. It can help us to gain a sense of purpose and also can help us to understand and discover our passions in our personal, professional, and social lives. Spirituality can mean different for different people, it can be knowing one's self, feeling connected to others, having a sense of purpose in life, doing what one loves to do, meditating, etc, many acts that can yield spiritual experience to us.
Thanks for reading and your comments are welcome.
(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing at vvt1974@gmail.com)
"Religion and spirituality are often used as synonyms. While religion is more to do with rituals, spirituality is that which has to do with one’s Self or, the spirit. Anything done for its growth and advancement is spirituality. They are not opposed, but stem from one another. While religion is more organised and includes public rituals, spirituality is more private and personal."
ReplyDeleteA very well put explanation!
I totally agree that religion and spirituality were supposed to complement each other and were supposed to go together. But what I see today is religion is often used to propagate sectarian views and used in very dictatorial fashion, its organized nature has some advantages but because of that it also reduces personal freedom and thinking out side box is often not encouraged, which is important for spirituality, as its more personal feeling..
DeleteInteresting question raised. I wonder in context of religion and spirituality, how the term "culture (sanskriti)" fits? As an Indian I find this question interesting because ancient Indians were supposed to follow Hindu culture (and not hindu religion) and still they used to perform public rituals as well as practice single mindedness!!
ReplyDeleteI think culture is region specific thing it is more related with geographical location than religion. We can see that many religions in Indian continent have similar cultural behavior in past. Fundamentalist slowly changed it to establish their own religious identity. Whatever was followed in Indian sub continent was called Hindu culture, there is no mention of term Hindu in any vedas or in Ramayan or even in Mahabharat. It became Hindu religion only after other religions invaded the region and they needed to keep their identity intact. Religious rituals are part of 'sanskriti' or culture but it also contains many other things like respecting elders, special treatment to guests, sharing food with needy, importance of education, etc. which are not directly related with religion. Its a interesting question, many be people can throw more light on this.
ReplyDeleteAlong with Time the Dynamics change too and "Culture" also undergoes alterations but not in it's fundamentals and basics.It is more of a step of adjustments to pertinent Social and practical changes!
ReplyDeleteLet me say that "Change" is the main feature of Progress with Time...Time and Change stops for no one!
Wow,,,,,really this is one of valuable post,,,,,thank you so much for sharing,,,,,,,,,
ReplyDeleteHindu astrology
Thanks a lot Sam..I am glad that you liked the blog post, keep reading and keep sharing.
DeleteThanks a lot for visiting the blog and haring your views.
ReplyDelete