Well guys, here is a term that was completely unheard of prior to this chapter being unveiled on “The Last Pilgrimage” weblog. Sure it was being discussed in different polls and debates throughout the world wide web, but it was hardly ever elaborated upon and discussed in detail. Today we are essentially going to focus on this topic simply owing to the fact that it needs to be discussed. What does spiritual quotient truly mean? Why do we need it? and what can we accomplish if we have it?
Well before answering the first question, I would like to answer the second one. Why do we need to be spiritual? Well the answer to that is plain and simple; because we need to survive. Today the rate at which human life is proceeding, it is indeed very hard to find a few moments of solace and peace. You are under relentless pressure at your job; you have a heft mortgage on your home that you hope pay off from the money that you receive at the end of every month. You have even more personal responsibilities to attend to. All in all, your life has been completely engulfed amidst the storm of physical existence that surrounds you. Many times when we reflect back upon our childhood, we feel that we indeed lived in simpler times. Many times we feel that we that we were much happy and carefree when we were mere children. Thomas Hood perfect expressed this in his poem titled I Remember, I Remember.
He said “I remember, I remember ,The fir-trees dark and high; I used to think their slender tops; Were close against the sky; It was a childish ignorance, But now ’tis little joy To know I’m farther off from Heaven Than when I was a boy.”
Being spiritual truly helps us move closer to God. It literally helps us to realize the God that resides within us. The spiritual journey is a journey of self-realization; and it brings with itself a great amount of peace, satisfaction and unconditional happiness. Being spiritual not only helps you to remain calm, quiet and peaceful in life, but it also helps you to develop a more pro-active attitude towards your worldly duties. The spiritual journey gives you a purpose which makes every facet of your life seem completely worthwhile. Indeed the spiritual journey gives you unparalleled insight and deep knowledge of the countless intricacies of existence.
Our spiritual quotient is essentially a reflection of our personality. It reflects our affinity towards our true selves. It determines our capability to look past the worldly illusions that surround us in life. Our spiritual quotient is what ultimately determines the amount of joy that we can derive from our mundane lives. A person with a greater spiritual quotient could be engulfed in multiple problems of worldly existence; and yet he would have within himself a spring of boundless joy and ecstasy. Not only that he would also be well equipped to deal with his worldly qualms, for he would be in a better place spiritually. Our spiritual quotient is indeed a healthy mix of our physical capabilities, our intelligence and our emotional receptivity. There is a thin line of perfection that traverses these three traits; and that ultimately determines our orientation and our receptivity to the divine power that resides within us.
Ultimately pertaining to the question as to what we can accomplish through developing a spiritual attitude towards life; I would say that we would accomplish nothing but a perpetual state of unconditional bliss. It would indeed be a great achievement, for then we would have no other desires; we would have no regrets; and we would indeed be forever at one with the final expression of undefined divinity that we call God…
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Many people accuse spirituality to be too idealistic and impractical in nature. Many feel that spirituality is essentially something that leads man away from the “real” thing in life; that it teaches an escapist way of life wherein the human being is not expected to stay pro-active at all. This deluded perception essentially leads them to shun the spiritual way of life at every point in time. However the fact that they fail to realize is that true spirituality is always practical in nature and it always advocates a prudent way of life.
25-Apr-2006 04:05, Canon Canon EOS 20D, 5.0, 45.0mm, 0.017 sec, ISO 400
Prudence necessarily means a sense of understanding of the worldly ways of life. The reason why I say that spirituality advocates prudence is owing to the fact that an individual can never gain salvation from the recursive human existence, unless he is absolved of all his karmic ties. These karmic ties are the ones that bind him to the worldly existence and the only way to absolve them is through prudence. To put it simply, prudence is knowing what to do; when to do it and how to do it.
An individual can start exercising prudence in his life by imbibing certain simple steps. Often the individual is caught in a paradoxical situation wherein he is forced to make a choice between idealism and practicality. In such situation it is always best to dispassionately judge both lines of action to determine what way is in the best interest of yourself and those around you. Herein your prudence comes pretty handy. Imagine a scenario wherin you need to lie to someone. Now you know that lying is essentially a “bad” thing to do; and yet you realize that if you lie just this once, that one lie would be influencing many lives in a positive way. In such a situation it is always best to go ahead and take the practical choice; but at the same, you should be completely prepared for all the backlash that you would receive if that one lie is to be discovered. Such is life. Most of the times, it is a great gamble of sorts; wherein unbeknowst of the results, an indiviudal is forced to take a leap of faith and hope that he lands soft. Such is life…
Many times spiritual seekers, who are in the early stages of development consider worldly life and worldly individuals to be redundant maggots. Often the seeker, intoxicated in the ecstatic bliss of his spiritual escapades, forgets that he too is a part of the worldly equation. Often this delusion leads him to adopt a solitary lifestyle, wherein he stops interacting with people whom he considers to be ‘un-spiritual’. The seeker herein, fails to realize that he is indeed making a grave mistake in acting so. Every seeker must realize that the reason to his physical existence are the karmic ties that he has with his physical body. He has to realize that the karmic ties that he has with other individuals also contribute to further extending the misery of his physical existence. The only way to aboslve those karmic debts is to be a pro-active part of the worldly life that he considers to be an illusion. In such a situation it would prudent for the spiritual seeker to reamin humble and centered in life. Once the seeker realizes that he need not go out of his way to truly make a spiritual effort; that spirituality is something to practised in the daily walks of life, only then will he come out of that deluded way of life.
Ultimately it is important to realize that in order to be successful spiritually, you need to satisfy all your worldly reponsibilities. Only then will the doors to the spirit world open for you. Thus in the worldly way of life as a seeker strives to achieve his goals, exercising prudence and discretion would go a long way in ensuring success.
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A human being is a complex organism. There are several facets and multiple undercurrents to his personality. This is essentially owing to the fact that the human being has evolved from countless incarnations of life and death. This evolution not only constitutes the physical process, but the spiritual one as well. As the human being evolves through time, with every single incarnation, he starts acquiring some specific traits which are native to the human existence. The human existence which is inherently bipolar in its very essence thus embellishes the spirit with its characteristic traits that in the end constitute the personality of the human being.
04-Apr-2009 17:57, Canon Canon PowerShot A530, 2.6, 5.8mm, 0.05 sec
The reason why I so humbly state the abject bipolarity of the human existence is owing to the fact that every human being has very diverse desires in his life. On one hand he is always bound to his instincts and his impulses. On the other hand, he always feels that he needs to seek a more loftier purpsoe in life than aimless fornications. Thus at the same time, there are parallel streams of desire that run in a human being. He wants the both the extremes with great passion and thus many times, this creates a paradox within his personality, wherein he is plagued by these diametrically opposite desires.
Now the human being, upon discovering the aforementioned fact realizes that essentially, the world would not accept him for who he is. Though he is aware of the fact that every single human being in this world is a two-faced, bipolar parasite; he is afraid to show that indeed he himself is one. This further leads him to categorically deny one facet of his split personality. What this means is that he just starts to ignore a side of himself. He may secretly indulge in it periodically, but he is never ready to accept it as a part of his own persona.
Acceptance is crucial for any change. Man can never change unless and until he accepts reality completely. He has to do so with no shed of regret, shame or despondency. Acceptance is the first step towards recovery. This is essentially where the true spiritualist comes into the picture. A true spiritualist is always aware of all the facets of his personality. He knows that they are a part of him and that he cannot simply deny it. At the same time, he is aware of his own shortcomings. He knows what part of his personality is creative and what part is not. Thus upon accepting himself with no shed of regret, shame or sadness, he then makes every possible attempt to ensure that he acts in a way that is ultimately producitve and creative. He ensure that his acts are always in the greater good of himself and those around him.
The aforementioned stage of spiritual evolution is quite hard to accomplish in one’s life. Most individuals often crack under pressure and expose themselves to the hypocritic society. This form of confessionary social suicide accomplishes nothing in the way of overall progress and satisfaction (*cough* Tiger Woods *cough*). Thus the point to realize is that the world need not see your real face. It is important that you see it for yourself. For once you see it and realize your complete self; efforts can be made to progress effectively. Thus in this way you would be able to enrich that part of yourself which is creative, productive and divine; while shedding of the part that is essentially self-centered, conspiratory and humane…
“The way to be free is to realize the other side of me…”
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