A CONTINUOUS NEED FOR SPIRITUALITY

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 desired and needed by his society and his nation. He will be wasting his spiritual treasure if he leaves his society and goes away 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 under-utilization 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 that spirituality turns one into a better person. It makes one more mature 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 is referred to as ‘applied spirituality’. In the basic sense, it is a personal asset, but in its expanded sense, it has many applications. It is not only others who benefit from applied spirituality, the spiritual person also benefits. When such a person devotes himself to sharing his spiritual training with others, he adds a whole new dimension to his own spirituality. Without wisdom, spirituality is incomplete. Spirituality plus wisdom gives rise to the emergence of a superior state of being. This superior state makes one a true well-wisher of humankind. It results in adopting the highest values in conjunction with one’s fellowmen in society. o Man is considered the ‘crown of creation’ by virtue of being endowed with the power of thinking. It does not befit us to use this blessing for the sole achievement of our worldly or material needs, which in any case will be fulfilled with lesser effort.