The meaning of Spirituality
What is the true meaning of spirituality? It is simply seeking and finding the Inner Spirit or soul within.
The soul or spirit is present inside all human beings. It resides inside the heart, and in subtle form. "Subtle" does not mean unreal, illusionary or imaginary. Nor does it mean "based on faith." Subtle simply means that if you were to cut open the heart, you could not physically see the spirit. The presence of the Spirit can be proven scientifically and verified through our actual physical experience, but only when we're willing to believe that the Spirit and inner energy actually do exist and approach experiments that can awaken our inner energy with an open mind.
Human beings who are seeking strongly are always willing to make this first assumption that the Spirit exists within, but perhaps still seek verification — they seek to actually feel the subtle experience. Often, one may have multiple tangible and verifiable experiences when one keeps seeking through experiment and maintains a truly open mind. For example, physical experiences include feeling a tingling sensation in the fingers and on the crown of the head. Other experiences occur on the mental plane, such as experiencing the slowing down and even stopping of thoughts. On the emotional plane, one is able to control emotions much more easily.
The most significant tangible experience of all is the feeling of total inner peace and calm, which leads to a transformed personality. This is usually the ultimate driver for people who continue to pursue a spiritual journey. This subtle experience is very personal. It's not something that science or logic can tangibly describe or quantify. In advanced stages, those who have found and understood the Spirit within continue to get many more, deeper and pleasurable experiences. Life ultimately becomes a pleasant, smooth journey for them. These people are on the path of Spirituality.
A perfect (though somewhat negative) example of something subtle that is commonly understood and accepted by human beings is the human ego. We all know what it is, and how its presence or absence causes us to behave. We could endlessly debate what the human ego really is or whether it actually even exists, given the lack of physical or scientific proof. Likewise we could endlessly debate the presence of the Spirit within or the entire chain of spiritual experiences. But in truth, people who waste time on such debates because they're on a mission to prove others wrong and themselves right have already lost the debate. The first assumption in the journey of Spirituality must always be faith — a belief that the Spirit exists — and an open mind and willingness to invest the time and effort in the journey of discovery.
In many ways, this is the test of seeking designed by the Divine. The game was designed in such a way that human beings must surrender their ego and strongly desire the Spirit within. The people who achieve immense reward and benefit from the surrender of ego are the ones who have continued to pass this test again and again over a long period of time — years, or even decades. In fact, those who believe in rebirth may claim that this phenomenon, in fact, occurs over several births.
The seeking of the Spirit is not a new thing. It's not a fad or a passing trend. It’s an ancient human pursuit. Anyone who questions the path of spirituality should, at the very least, consider the fact that many of the saints who spoke about spirituality are highly regarded by most of the human race.
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The soul or spirit is present inside all human beings. It resides inside the heart, and in subtle form. "Subtle" does not mean unreal, illusionary or imaginary. Nor does it mean "based on faith." Subtle simply means that if you were to cut open the heart, you could not physically see the spirit. The presence of the Spirit can be proven scientifically and verified through our actual physical experience, but only when we're willing to believe that the Spirit and inner energy actually do exist and approach experiments that can awaken our inner energy with an open mind.
Human beings who are seeking strongly are always willing to make this first assumption that the Spirit exists within, but perhaps still seek verification — they seek to actually feel the subtle experience. Often, one may have multiple tangible and verifiable experiences when one keeps seeking through experiment and maintains a truly open mind. For example, physical experiences include feeling a tingling sensation in the fingers and on the crown of the head. Other experiences occur on the mental plane, such as experiencing the slowing down and even stopping of thoughts. On the emotional plane, one is able to control emotions much more easily.
The most significant tangible experience of all is the feeling of total inner peace and calm, which leads to a transformed personality. This is usually the ultimate driver for people who continue to pursue a spiritual journey. This subtle experience is very personal. It's not something that science or logic can tangibly describe or quantify. In advanced stages, those who have found and understood the Spirit within continue to get many more, deeper and pleasurable experiences. Life ultimately becomes a pleasant, smooth journey for them. These people are on the path of Spirituality.
A perfect (though somewhat negative) example of something subtle that is commonly understood and accepted by human beings is the human ego. We all know what it is, and how its presence or absence causes us to behave. We could endlessly debate what the human ego really is or whether it actually even exists, given the lack of physical or scientific proof. Likewise we could endlessly debate the presence of the Spirit within or the entire chain of spiritual experiences. But in truth, people who waste time on such debates because they're on a mission to prove others wrong and themselves right have already lost the debate. The first assumption in the journey of Spirituality must always be faith — a belief that the Spirit exists — and an open mind and willingness to invest the time and effort in the journey of discovery.
In many ways, this is the test of seeking designed by the Divine. The game was designed in such a way that human beings must surrender their ego and strongly desire the Spirit within. The people who achieve immense reward and benefit from the surrender of ego are the ones who have continued to pass this test again and again over a long period of time — years, or even decades. In fact, those who believe in rebirth may claim that this phenomenon, in fact, occurs over several births.
The seeking of the Spirit is not a new thing. It's not a fad or a passing trend. It’s an ancient human pursuit. Anyone who questions the path of spirituality should, at the very least, consider the fact that many of the saints who spoke about spirituality are highly regarded by most of the human race.
Next Article
More Spiritual Musicopedia Articles