Who is spiritual?
Funny question to ask...but if you know my path you will understand my question.
My grandmother and grandfather were deeply religious and ritualistic, as is norm in a typical Brahmin family; and Iyengar to boot, they think they are the true blue Vaishnavaites...royalty even!
My father and mother very theistic with an unquestionable, unshakable faith in the Lord.
So growing up I was comfortable following their system, but in a half hearted lacklustre way. The obedient clasping hands in the temples or reciting shlokas when asked or prompted. Yet deep within me I was not sure why I was doing it.
So I was quite happy to marry an agnostic. (That is perhaps the only point of difference with my partner that I do not mind! But that is another story.)
Now having tossed and turned in this ocean of Samsara, I am keenly questioning this word spirituality or spiritualism.
Right from the start I dismissed rituals as a fun aspect of the spirituality that I was a seeker of...
But who then is a spiritual person?
Is it the one who visits temples daily?
Or the one who prays daily?
What about those who share life's philosophies through their discourses...are they spiritual beings??
It slowly dawned on me that being spiritual is not what you or I know from the cliched definitions,or stereotypes that we are used to...
A spiritual person who is truly in touch with divinity, are those who are truly in touch with themselves, and that self is without an ego...
~ssstoryteller~
My grandmother and grandfather were deeply religious and ritualistic, as is norm in a typical Brahmin family; and Iyengar to boot, they think they are the true blue Vaishnavaites...royalty even!
My father and mother very theistic with an unquestionable, unshakable faith in the Lord.
So growing up I was comfortable following their system, but in a half hearted lacklustre way. The obedient clasping hands in the temples or reciting shlokas when asked or prompted. Yet deep within me I was not sure why I was doing it.
So I was quite happy to marry an agnostic. (That is perhaps the only point of difference with my partner that I do not mind! But that is another story.)
Now having tossed and turned in this ocean of Samsara, I am keenly questioning this word spirituality or spiritualism.
Right from the start I dismissed rituals as a fun aspect of the spirituality that I was a seeker of...
But who then is a spiritual person?
Is it the one who visits temples daily?
Or the one who prays daily?
What about those who share life's philosophies through their discourses...are they spiritual beings??
It slowly dawned on me that being spiritual is not what you or I know from the cliched definitions,or stereotypes that we are used to...
A spiritual person who is truly in touch with divinity, are those who are truly in touch with themselves, and that self is without an ego...
A human being who can interact with everyone with the same sense of self, without allowing the narrow definitions of Ego to influence his/ her interactions with others; that is a truly spiritual person...It doesn't matter whether they pray or not, whether they believe in God or not...this person is connected to divinity...a spiritual person.
A human being who can speak to the sweeper with the same concern as they would speak to the CEO of a large company...is the one who is spiritual
A human being who can present themselves with minimal expectations and needs
~ssstoryteller~
Comments
Post a Comment