Spirituality Self Essay, Essays (university) of Psychology

Download Spirituality Self Essay and more Essays (university) Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Learning through Spirituality THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUALITY PART —1 : PERSONAL If you were to bring up the subject of spirituality with the successful metropolitan crowd, you would most likely be subjected to a queer look or a snide comment. For some of these people in their twenties and thirties whose life revolves around their home, office and the social circuit, a good paying job, car, good bank balance, and for whom fancy home gadgets epitomize the trappings of success, and when you are materially successful then what relevance do abstract concepts like God, spirituality have in their life, they ask. For them, spirituality conjures up the image of a religious saint in the temple, church, mosque or gurudwara who spends his productive time in the pursuit of apparently meaningless goals. However, if you do withdraw from the sensual world into a jungle cave or the Himalayan mountains to practice spirituality, you could probably avoid being affected by the consequences of blind materialism plaguing our metro cities and your search for a simple life could well be within reach. The other part of the issue is that ifa person chooses to live ina city, he needs to undertake productive work to sustain his requirements and meet family responsibilities. But more than ever before, it is in the cities that people need to bring in the concept of spirituality in their lives. For, it is an appreciation of spirituality that helps a person answer some fundamental questions about himself and achieve a balance in his life. Spirituality to me means to have respect for the basic good values enshrined in the various religious scriptures and the positive qualities depicted in the lives of virtuous men and women. It helps you to understand that the core teachings of all religions focus on good values: Christianity for love, sacrifice; Islam for equality and justice; Hinduism for tolerance snd simplicity: Jainism for non- violence; Sikhism for hard work and so on. Spirituality helps you to know and understand yourself which in turn enables you to develop compassion for others. It can help you to focus on the essentials: What is your purpose in life? What do you want to contribute? What is your true self? It helps you to understand that the world is but an extended family and that a person needs to look beyond his self-interest to doing service for the welfare of others. The culture in our metropolitan cities is one characterized by the blind pursuit of material comforts. The person who has a palatial house, a financially successful business, a premium car and household appliances, membership of prestigious clubs and can take a holiday in exotic locations is considered a role model and the herd follows him and tries to ape his lifestyle. As a result, what suffers is the individual’s personal life, a rejection of the good values which are overpowered by feelings of competition, jealously, envy, anger and hatred. And this is an unending quest. No matter how much you earn you want more. But materialism is a misunderstood western concept where charity, philanthropy and service are equally important. Spirituality helps you to focus on the basics: that you can travel equally comfortably in a chartered bus as in a Mercedes car. It is for this reason that a common grouse of successful people is that despite their money, position and power they are unhappy, dissatisfied and discontented. Recreation means wild night parties, social drinking, snooker and bowling games, and expensive shopping. But this pleasure is only temporary for the novelty wears off after a few weeks or months and the hunt begins for more avenues for satisfaction. This over indulgence leads to extreme swings in emotional states, which results in psychological and physical deterioration. It also makes a person extremely self centered and he becomes vulnerable to abuse. Spirituality helps one to realize that satisfaction and happiness are not found outside in the material world, but inside within the self. The immediate requirement of most people is to satisfy their personal needs and that of their immediate family. In the city, the life of an individual revolves around his family. He is least interested in what happens next door and the explanation is that he minds his business. The result is that he doesn’t know who his next door neighbour is. It is this excessive focus on the self which exaggerates the sense of alienation, isolation and loneliness. Spiritually helps you to realize that a person must rise beyond his self interest to taking interest in and serving the neighbourhood, community, and country. It tells you the joys of giving and serving are infinitely larger than receiving. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of humankind is the unusually large and bloody wars fought in the name of religion. History tells us that mighty armies have moved across continents, unleashing bloodshed and wanton suffering on those professing another faith. The desire of one religion to subjugate another is the result of the false understanding of its followers who consider their faith as final, ultimate and all binding. They miss the basic point that all religions have a common message for people, which is, to pursue goodness. But you can have respect for and tolerance for another religion only if you have an open mind which is willing to go beyond personal bias and prejudice. To realise that there could be others who also advocate good values and qualities is to take that extremely difficult step of shaking off your pre-conceived notions. Spirituality helps one to achieve this. Unfortunately, religion has often been used to divide and create animosity between two groups of people. The overemphasis on the differences creates unnecessary tension and friction between tow or more religious communities. It is for this reason that Paramahansa Yogananda said that God