SPIRITUAL LIFE FOR ALL ( Page 1 ) |
| A cat is said to have nine lives. How about us, the
human beings? Some may say, two - one here and another one hereafter.
Or do we speak of different lives like intellectual life, social life,
mental life, family life, commercial life, professional life, personal
life, physical life (which may be called material or animal life),
religious life and spiritual life. That makes it ten. May be if we
try harder we can come up with a few more and claim to have more than
ten lives. |
| For some people the spiritual life is just one of those
ten or more lives. The attitude of some other people is yet another.
According to them, “Spiritual life is not meant for us. It is
for those who have renounced the worldly life and have enclosed themselves
in cloisters, habits or saffron.” For yet others spiritual life
is the same as religious life. “I want to enjoy life to the
fullest. Spiritual life therefore wont suit me”, is the attitude
of some others. If spiritual life is something that prevents me from
sharing the joys of life, if it is one of mortifications and chastisements,
one of renunciation or of contemplative meditations only, I also want
no part of it. What I mean by spiritual life is not that kind at all.
It is one, full of happiness, joy and peace and it can be full of
fun and laughter. When you lead this kind of spiritual life, you are
making heaven on earth for you and for others, and not just suffering
a tragic life with the hope of a heaven after death. Making heaven
on earth is the sure way of enjoying heaven in the next life as well.
And it is not for the selected few either. It is open to all of us. |
| The basis of the spiritual life I have in mind is an
awareness in three dimensions.
These terms need not dampen your enthusiasm. Actually it is very simple.
The first dimension is the realization that God is a being of spirit
who is present everywhere. Here, just now, He is with me, looking
after me, ready to protect me when the need arises because He loves
me much more than my father or mother ever could. This kind of faith,
this absolute trust in His providence shall free us from all fears,
worries and anxieties and allow us to enjoy life like contented children
only could. |
| The second dimension is the realization that I am a
being of spirit. It is the realization that the true self of a human
being is not the body but the spirit or the soul. What God created
in His image and likeness is not the human body but the soul. The
body is in the image and likeness of the animal, of an ape. I do not
contribute to statements like; ‘I have a soul’ or ‘there
is a divine spark in me’. No, I would rather say that I have
a body, because I am the spirit, the immortal soul. The body is only
a packing case for the precious cargo that is the soul. Or we could
say that the body is just a boat in which the sailor is the spirit
or the self of man. Irrespective of your chronological age this realization
will always let you be a child, not grown up or independent, but always
a child, the child of God, dependent fully on Him. With the realization
that God is always with you, like any toddler, you hold on firmly
to his hands and feel safe and secure in any situation that life throws
you in. Never let go of His hands; just love Him and live in His love.
You will feel what bliss is. |
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