Applied Spirituality

his fellow men, and one who dies in solitude without ever having benefitted others. Spirituality fosters the development of all kinds of constructive qualities and, in so doing, makes one a complete, person. An individual endowed with such qualities is one who is wanted and needed by his society and his nation. He will be wasting his spiritual treasure if he leaves his society and goes off to some jungle to live alone in peace and tranquillity. This is, of course, a manifestation of spirituality, but in a very narrow form, and living like a hermit means a serious underutilization of the gifts of a spiritualized person. In fact, the spiritualized person is a most desirable individual when it comes to establishing a better society, a better society being nothing but a collection of better persons. And, it is true spirituality that turns one into a better person. To create a civilized society and keep it running on course, we need professionally trained people at the helm of affairs. Without such trained people, it is impossible to have a properly structured society. There is a similar need of spiritual individuals, for spirituality makes one a better and more mature person in terms of character and honesty, duty consciousness and mental preparedness. As such the guidance the spiritual person can give is of a superior nature and he is, therefore, the best qualified to steer the engine of social existence along the right lines. It is such spirituality that we have called ‘applied’ spirituality. In the basic sense, spirituality is a personal asset, but in its expanded sense, it has many applications.