Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD. Published on www.acadun.com The Netherlands 12th November 2014
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Essence and Spirituality
Man is interested in spirituality. But what does spiritual or spirituality mean? This article addresses spiritual or spirituality as a quality that is concerned with the human spirit, meaning the soul, and not with religion.
There are many versions of spirituality, but who is to decide which version of spirituality is true, because it is obvious that only one quality of spirituality could be true, as the soul is one and not many?
The fundamental belief of every version of spirituality is that man is separate from his soul and needs to become his or her soul. If spirituality is a quality, the quality has to be present in every aspect of every human being, as man has many aspects to his daily life. Therefore, the first point to ponder is whether the human being is separate from his or her soul.
If a human being were separate from his soul, could he be certain of the separation? Man cannot be certain that he is separate from his soul, but why not? Primitive man did not know that he had a soul. As man evolved, understanding happened to him that a human being has a soul. Further, in evolution, man understood that all living and non-living things, such as vegetation, animals and matter had a spirit or a soul, without which they would not exist. As understanding evolved further the enlightened understood that if man were able to see his or her soul, he would be able to see the soul present in all living and non-living things too. But as man cannot see the soul in any living or non-living things, the enlightened were certain that there is no separation between man and his soul, because no man or woman has ever seen his or her soul, including the enlightened.
This understanding of the enlightened implies that man is not separate from his soul. The second point to be certain of is, where could the soul be? As spirituality is a quality, and man has many aspects to his daily life, the quality of spirituality needs to be present so that man’s daily aspects with its quality could exist and function.
And since man’s daily life is present every moment, it is obvious that spirituality or the soul is present in every moment. This also implies that it is spirituality or the soul which makes every moment exist.
The enlightened have rightly proclaimed that the soul is the essence of life and that life, as it is, is spiritual.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar
Editor’s Note: Understanding the nature of the soul and its significance to the life of all that is animate and inanimate in the world we have come to know has been the focus of serious study for centuries. Many academic and philosophical books and treatises have been written on the ‘soul’. In this article, the author casts a new light on spirituality by sharing his deep understanding of the unity of all that exists, indeed of existence itself with the soul, as proclaimed by the enlightened sages. Julian Capper.UK.
German translator’s note: The word spiritual or spirituality has become something special to man. However, ordinary life is spiritual, whereas the ego searches for it somewhere in the mind. The spiritual or the soul is here every moment, otherwise the moment would not exist. Only a deep understanding of life and the mind, shared in these articles on “essence“ and all its aspects in life, is necessary. Marcus Stegmaier. Germany
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