Spirituality and Applied
Spirituality

One who believes in simple living creates problems neither for himself nor for others, and one who engages in high thinking becomes a truly selfless person.

Spirituality, the sublime character of men and women, has two facets: the internal and the external. The internal facet is positive thinking. The external facet is living in peace. Spirituality is in no way a kind of ecstasy, as is often believed. Indeed, it is a non-material culture, which means giving more importance to values which are immaterial rather than material. In essence, it promotes the philosophy of simple living and high thinking – the moral mainstay of humanity.

One who believes in simple living creates problems neither for himself nor for others, and one who engages in high thinking becomes a truly selfless person. The majority of the anti-human activities in society result from the clash between people over material interests. But if, by obeying one’s spiritual proclivities, one can go beyond such interests, the result is entirely positive. One who does so will become a healthy member of society, and a society which is largely composed of such members is bound to emerge as a peaceful society.

Spirituality is a culture of nature, a demonstration of which is given to us by nature in a variety of ways. Let us take the example of a rose plant. The rose plant is a combination of two quite opposite elements: flowers and thorns. Both flowers and thorns live together on the stem of a rose plant, but there is no clash between the two. It is this feature that has made the rose plant a very beautiful and thought-provoking thing to behold, in that it is symbolic of how we should live in society without there being any friction between disparate elements.

There is spirituality of a purely internal nature and then there is spirituality which reaches out to others. Spirituality of the internal kind makes one a good human being, while ‘applied’ spirituality ensures harmonious interaction between the individuals, both men and women, of which society is made up. If society is a tree, the spiritual person is its flower.

Spirituality makes the individual a true human being. But this does not suffice. A person’s spirituality must impinge on his environment. His elevated spiritual values must become evident in his dealings with others, and he must take the course of peaceful adjustment when a clash is imminent. At all events, he must clearly demonstrate his capacity to turn negative experiences into positive ones, and so on.

Positive men and women are like spiritual gardeners who, in their conduct towards others, turn society into a spiritual garden. ‘Applied’ spirituality means the bringing into play of a multiplicity of spiritual values. This is beneficial to both the spiritual person and his neighbour. It makes him a happy individual and ensures that his environs will remain free of societal problems.

Spirituality is a science, a science of the mind. It is the greatest source of positive thinking, positive taste, positive habits and positive behaviour. A positive person is a blessing for his home, for society and for his nation. In secular terms, spirituality is positive thinking and in religious terms, it is divine discipline.