POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPIRITUALITY

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SPIRITUALITY Different Results T HE definition of spirituality given in the dictionary is—the state of being opposed to worldliness. This definition is partly true, for unworldliness is not just for the sake of unworldliness. It is for the sake of a higher goal. And that goal is to develop a spiritual way of life. There are two kinds of spirituality—negative spirituality and positive spirituality. Negative spirituality means renouncing the material world, or leaving society and settling in some jungle or on some mountain. This kind of negative spirituality has no creative role. It suppresses all the natural qualities of a human being, who then dies without having made full use of his potential. Quranic spirituality is spirituality of the positive kind. It means living in the world and trying to derive spiritual food from material things as a matter of intellectual discipline. It means to control rather than kill one’s desires. The fact is that God Almighty has created man with great potential, It is not good to suppress this potential. One should rather avail of this potential for the sake of personality development. It means experiencing all the good and evils of society and trying to live with others without reaction. Positive spirituality can be termed creative spirituality. For example, there is a verse in the Quran which says with reference to the believers that “they forgive people when they are angry.” (3: 134). It means that positive spirituality is based on the formula of anger management rather than on trying to become a person who has no feelings of anger. The formula for positive spirituality can be summarized thus: turn your negative sentiment into positive responses; make friends out of enemies. The formula for positive spirituality is based on the principle of simple living and high thinking. Simple living and high thinking are complementary to each other. Simple living saves you from all kinds The fact is that God Almighty has created man with great potential. It is not good to suppress this potential. One should rather avail of this potential for the sake of personality development. It means experiencing all the good and all the evils of society and trying to live with others without reaction.