Harnessing the Stars: Navigating Life Transitions with Astrology
Spirituality means different things to different people. The word Spirituality stems from the Latin word spiritus which means soul and is related to the term spirare meaning to breathe. Our life begins when we are born and ends when death occurs. But when spiritual matters are discussed in various cultures all around the world, they don’t believe that death is the end of our lives. But essentially what is meant by spirituality and being spiritual is that we are fed up by our psychological as well as physical drama and seek to find something new, deeper, and profound about life. Indian culture is often deemed to be spiritual. In the 1960s hippies began coming to India after being fed up with the life they lived in the States. They were amazed as well shell-shocked to find a country so full of people working very efficiently in their spiritual matters. Allen Ginsberg, a very famous poet who hails from the United States, once stated in an interview by seeing the Naga Sants or saints walking naked or some just walking draping a piece of fabric around their waist. He tells the interviewer that if people tried this in the United States, they’d be arrested for showcasing nudity in public. But here things were different. Before delving into the topic of Spirituality deeper, we must create a sharp distinction between Spirituality and Religion.
Spirituality is different from Religion
Religion is a certain set of beliefs and ideas solidified over some time. Whereas, Spirituality makes you sincere enough to admit that you do not know some if not many things in this universe. Religion is something that has been passed over the gap which should have been met by the sincere admission of “I don’t know”. Religion has created all sorts of conflict and divides in this world, giving confidence to people and not clarity. One must know that confidence without clarity is a huge disaster and the current world is our case study. Religions of the world were formed out of the sheer need to share tools that can help an individual in self-actualization but it has gone bad.
Are Relationships and Spirituality a bad combination?
Many people believe that being spiritual means getting yourself isolated and meditating in a cave in the Himalayas or any other mountain. This is a way but not the way. People in familial relationships have often complained that they cannot find time “to do” spirituality. Spirituality is not something that has to be done. It happens. The spiritual process has nothing to do with the outside, it is something that happens within an individual.
Should Spirituality mean living in an Ashram?
No, spirituality does not mean living in an ashram. Again, this is one big misconception. Spirituality means you do not need anything or any influence to be a motivating stimulus for your growth. Spirituality means creating an atmosphere inside of oneself that is conducive.
What can youth do to be spiritual?
Youth is the time when there are raging hormones inside everybody. It manifests in some form or the other. Most teenagers around the world complain of watching too much porn, getting angry, overthinking, anxiety issues, etc. When a person is in his or her youth, it means that they’re on top of everybody’s game physically. They are very capable. But for this potential to sprout and blossom, an appropriate balance is needed. For the balance to come forth, one must take out time to meditate, sit alone and just sit in one place. No breath watch is needed or any exercise. Just relax, close your eyes and see what is the nature of your thoughts. Try to create a distinction between your mind and your body and yourself.
Spirituality means destroying all boundaries
Lord Shiva is known as the cosmic destroyer in the Hindu way of looking at life. His role as a destroyer is an allegory to make people understand that what we need to do is to destroy our small, little identities acting as boundaries. We want to be certain of everything in life but not everything is in our control truly. Spirituality celebrates uncertainty. It empowers people to perform to their best capability in case of any calamity or crisis.
Tips to be spiritual
Try to spend time in nature all by yourself with no phones. In case you’re carrying a phone put it on silent. Go inward. Try not to form any judgments and just observe, look to understand yourself deeper. To look at things without labeling them is the foundational step of spirituality.
