Spirituality is the path of the heart.
Religion is a consensus between human leaders of an organized group that claims to hold the truth. The nature of this truth is subject to these leaders often varying interpretations of their respective books which they all consider to be the absolute source of truth. These truths are then presented to their adherents, who based on their upbringing, use of intellect, degree of morality, type of background, geography, or any combination of these, will choose to embrace the interpretations or not.
Spirituality is the search of a direct connection with life through one’s innate sense of morality and earnest adherence to one's own conscience when unadulterated by one’s own personal biases and selfish desires. Spirituality is independent of geography, culture and time. Spirituality is the essence of religion and is all inclusive in its application to humanity. It has many paths, some of which are religious, other which or not. Yet it would be foolish to believe that spirituality could be achieved without the knowledge which comes from religion. For religion has long been the main distributer of spiritual knowledge; That is the knowledge of the spiritual dimensions of man and the various rituals, practices and philosophies that promote the expansion of man’s moral outlook and hence his spiritual growth. In fact, religion could be credited for keeping the level of true spirituality that exists today alive.
Yet it also has a dark side. How has religion become the basis upon which rested the fervor in men to commit atrocities towards humanity such as that of, slavery, colonization, misguided jihads, the crusades, religious terrorisms and other religiously motivated acts of violence? The answer lies in the motivation of the leaders of these violent religious movements, whether the movements describe themselves as religious or not.
The books upon which the religious groups which commit these acts are based could scarcely be blamed for their interpretations, because they mostly all promote a message of peace and brotherhood within humanity. But it is easy for man to silence their own conscience when atrocities are being committed in the name of what they believe to be the divine. All the while authorities, which hold the power of shaping the moral code of their followers, do so in a manner which guaranties their survival as a religion and maintains their power over mankind along with the exalted position they find themselves in.
At the same time, people who have risen to denounce the inhumanities of the world are often ignored, silenced or killed. These people are listened to and respected based on their virtue and the human quality of their message. These particular teachers may have different religious backgrounds or non-religious approaches to spiritual growth, yet they all agree upon the value of human life and the necessity for peace within humanity. They all understand the connection each one of us has with the rest of humanity and even the rest of existence. Based on this connection they can see that what we do affects the rest of humanity through a complex series of reverberations which thus cause a domino effect of positivity or negativity which then ripples throughout the consciousness of men. Spirituality and science are at agreement that nothing is destroyed only transformed. Therefore by condoning negative actions such as retaliation instead of understanding we transform the positive inclinations of the men whom we consider enemies, sometimes along with that of their friends and family who are potentially young and innocent, into a negative focus which eventually surfaces as another atrocity that we often immediately accept as a validation of our own vile acts. This is why the world needs spirituality as the uniting web that connects us all regardless of our religions or allegiances. All should be free to follow their own paths to spiritual growth and fulfillment in this life, without the self-righteousness of those who believe that they hold the absolute truth to the extent of validating the taking of the lives and the sustenance of their so called enemies.
Is it not possible to stand up for what we believe in and yet do so peacefully?
Has our heart not helped us distinguish right from wrong throughout our lifetime?
The most important affliction on humanity is nothing else but the pollution of the heart through the conditioning of the mind. It is this conditioning which allows us to view that which is obviously contrary to love and respect of humanity as acceptable. While deep within our heart we all know our individual responsibility towards peace and when the effects of our actions contradict our natural sense of morality as human beings.
Spirituality isn't a religion, it is our earnest search for the truth and our belief that this truth must accord the same opportunity for joy and dignity to all of humanity regardless of our distinct natural human characteristics and backgrounds. It is identified in man by his genuineness and wealth in true virtue. It is the voice within our own heart that guides us towards peace and harmony.
Spirituality is the search of a direct connection with life through one’s innate sense of morality and earnest adherence to one's own conscience when unadulterated by one’s own personal biases and selfish desires. Spirituality is independent of geography, culture and time. Spirituality is the essence of religion and is all inclusive in its application to humanity. It has many paths, some of which are religious, other which or not. Yet it would be foolish to believe that spirituality could be achieved without the knowledge which comes from religion. For religion has long been the main distributer of spiritual knowledge; That is the knowledge of the spiritual dimensions of man and the various rituals, practices and philosophies that promote the expansion of man’s moral outlook and hence his spiritual growth. In fact, religion could be credited for keeping the level of true spirituality that exists today alive.
Yet it also has a dark side. How has religion become the basis upon which rested the fervor in men to commit atrocities towards humanity such as that of, slavery, colonization, misguided jihads, the crusades, religious terrorisms and other religiously motivated acts of violence? The answer lies in the motivation of the leaders of these violent religious movements, whether the movements describe themselves as religious or not.
The books upon which the religious groups which commit these acts are based could scarcely be blamed for their interpretations, because they mostly all promote a message of peace and brotherhood within humanity. But it is easy for man to silence their own conscience when atrocities are being committed in the name of what they believe to be the divine. All the while authorities, which hold the power of shaping the moral code of their followers, do so in a manner which guaranties their survival as a religion and maintains their power over mankind along with the exalted position they find themselves in.
At the same time, people who have risen to denounce the inhumanities of the world are often ignored, silenced or killed. These people are listened to and respected based on their virtue and the human quality of their message. These particular teachers may have different religious backgrounds or non-religious approaches to spiritual growth, yet they all agree upon the value of human life and the necessity for peace within humanity. They all understand the connection each one of us has with the rest of humanity and even the rest of existence. Based on this connection they can see that what we do affects the rest of humanity through a complex series of reverberations which thus cause a domino effect of positivity or negativity which then ripples throughout the consciousness of men. Spirituality and science are at agreement that nothing is destroyed only transformed. Therefore by condoning negative actions such as retaliation instead of understanding we transform the positive inclinations of the men whom we consider enemies, sometimes along with that of their friends and family who are potentially young and innocent, into a negative focus which eventually surfaces as another atrocity that we often immediately accept as a validation of our own vile acts. This is why the world needs spirituality as the uniting web that connects us all regardless of our religions or allegiances. All should be free to follow their own paths to spiritual growth and fulfillment in this life, without the self-righteousness of those who believe that they hold the absolute truth to the extent of validating the taking of the lives and the sustenance of their so called enemies.
Is it not possible to stand up for what we believe in and yet do so peacefully?
Has our heart not helped us distinguish right from wrong throughout our lifetime?
The most important affliction on humanity is nothing else but the pollution of the heart through the conditioning of the mind. It is this conditioning which allows us to view that which is obviously contrary to love and respect of humanity as acceptable. While deep within our heart we all know our individual responsibility towards peace and when the effects of our actions contradict our natural sense of morality as human beings.
Spirituality isn't a religion, it is our earnest search for the truth and our belief that this truth must accord the same opportunity for joy and dignity to all of humanity regardless of our distinct natural human characteristics and backgrounds. It is identified in man by his genuineness and wealth in true virtue. It is the voice within our own heart that guides us towards peace and harmony.
posted by Albouri Ndiaye | 21:28
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