The MAGIC of Spirituality
#Spirituality is the science of the Soul, the Atman, the life energy within us. It is about being aware, being conscious of who we are. It is about realizing our true self. We are not the body, mind and ego. We are the Soul, a Spark Of Unique Life. If we do not live as the Soul or the Atman, we are living in darkness, in ignorance. It is this very Soul, the Spirit, the Atman, this life energy that causes us to live, that gives us breath. If there were no life energy within us, then there would be death. The only thing that is real, that truly exists is this life energy, which is who we are, but which we don’t realize. We think that we are the body that we appear to be, that we are the mind, but in reality, we are the Spirit. The body dies and people say that we passed away, we departed, moved on. Who passed away, who moved on, who departed? We are so sure that we are not the body that after death, the body is burnt or buried. We cannot be the mind, because it doesn’t even exist! Do we even know where the mind is? Of course not, because the mind is an illusion. It is just a bundle of thoughts. We are not the ego — the ego is a false identity. If not the body, mind and ego, then who are we? We are the Soul. The Soul is the power of the Divine, of SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. The purpose of spirituality is this realization; it is Enlightenment — being enlightened with the truth. It is meant to help us attain God realization. It is the way to unification with God and thereby, it liberates us from all misery and suffering, and from the Karmic cycle of death and rebirth.
The elements of spirituality, the MAGIC that will lead us to Enlightenment, are:
M: Mumukshutva
This is a deep, passionate yearning for the Divine and Liberation. We must be so passionate about spirituality that we must seek it beyond anything else. We must yearn for the Divine. Our yearning must be more than a miser’s yearning for gold, more than a lover’s yearning for his beloved and more than a child’s yearning for its mother that it has just lost.
A: Asking Questions
We must not just follow anyone or anything blindly. We must embark on a quest, a Talaash with questions like: Who is God? Where is God? What is God? Who am I? Am I the body? Am I the mind? Where are heaven and hell? What is the Soul? What happens after I die? Is there an afterlife? We must investigate our findings; only then will we realize God.
G : Guru’s Guidance
We need a spiritual mentor, a Guru. The word Guru comes from the words Gu, which means darkness and Ru, which means light. It is said that when a disciple is ready, the Guru appears. A Guru guides us on our spiritual quest, our Talaash, our journey, and takes us from darkness to light. A Guru is an enlightened Soul, one who has realized the truth himself and who always lives in consciousness of the truth.
I: Ignorance eradication
We must overcome the myths, the lies, the ignorance that we live with. Most of us are enveloped in the darkness of ignorance. We are oblivious to the truth. We must unlearn the lies, the myths that we have been told, or taught over the years. In the scriptures, the cosmic illusion that we live with and our ignorance is referred to as Maya, Mithya, Avidya.
C: Consciousness
We must remain conscious of the truth. We must live in the state of consciousness, which we attain once we kill the mind by stilling it. Then we are in the state of thoughtlessness. It is in this state, when we are in the state of consciousness that we experience Satchitananda — Divine bliss.
These aspects create the MAGIC of spirituality that enables us to achieve the ultimate goal of life, Moksha.
