Six basic principles of spirituality

 

The 6 basic principles of Spirituality

Spiritual practice is highly individual for each person. At the same time, there are some universal principles of Spirituality. If we do spiritual practice that does not conform to these principles, the practice may not lead to spiritual growth.

There are as Many Paths to God as There are People

As the old adage goes, one person's food is another person's poison. It is important to remember that each person is different and so what works for one person may not work for another.

Go from many to one

Just as an athlete focuses on one sport to excel in it or a mathematician focuses fully on one problem to solve it, so also at some point in our spiritual journey we have to focus our efforts to go ahead to higher spiritual levels.

Progressing from gross (tangible) to subtle (intangible)

Inner love for someone is more important than a physical show of affection. So also when we love God deeply from inside, our entire behaviour resonates with the same feeling and then physical rituals reduce in their importance.

According to spiritual level or spiritual capacity

We would not expect a 4th grade student to pass a 12th grade exam. Similarly, we also need to undertake spiritual practice as per our spiritual maturity.

Doing spiritual practice relevant to the times

If seeds are sown during the dry season, they will not sprout. All of us know the importance of doing things at the right time. Similarly, in Spirituality we need to do the right spiritual practice as per the time to make spiritual progress as expected.

Offering to God as per your talent or capacity

Remember when our parents gave us pocket money and how happy they were when we bought them a present with the same money? In the same way, God has given us our talents and resources, and when we offer them to serve His mission, He is pleased.

Spiritual Practice should be done on a daily basis

What is common between a champion basketball player and a talented pianist? The answer is sincere and dedicated practice. By putting in regular effort in any field we improve over time. The same rule applies to spiritual practice; we need to make consistent efforts to progress Spiritually.

Increasing the level of spiritual practice regularly

Let's take the example of the champion basketball player and the talented pianist again. They got to their respective levels of skill by increasing the amount of time they devote to playing basketball or the piano regularly. Similarly, we should keep increasing our spiritual practice in terms of quality and quantity.

Spirituality is to be experienced

Would you rather eat ice cream or study the characteristics of ice cream? Just as you would likely rather eat the ice cream, it is most beneficial to put what we read about Spirituality into practice and experience it rather than only studying it. In Spirituality, words have only 2% importance while 98% importance lies in getting the experience of those words.

Gaining spiritual experiences from spiritual practice

When we start spiritual practice, in order to encourage us, God speaks to us through spiritual experiences and assures us that He is near. Due to such experiences, our faith in spiritual practice goes on increasing and our doubts go on reducing. As a result we are able to move on from intellectual banter about Spirituality to true inner experience of God.

What is individual spiritual practice and collective spiritual practice?

As per the current times, individual spiritual practice has 30% importance while collective spiritual practice has 70% importance. Most spiritual paths teach about individual spiritual practice, but the more important collective spiritual practice is generally neglected.

Spiritual practice with expectation and without expectation 

Doing spiritual practice with expectations of worldly gain wastes our spiritual energy and prevents us from progressing spiritually. When we do spiritual practice without expectations of worldly gain with sincerity, God only takes care of our material needs as per what is required for our spiritual practice to continue.

Learning to listen to an authority in Spirituality

Would you try to win a court case on your own, or would you consult a lawyer? Or would you try to treat your illness on your own or would you consult a doctor? Spirituality is far more complex than any worldly field, so it is important to listen to someone who is an authority in Spirituality and is able to guide us in it.

Own wish, others wish and Gods wish

Most of us like to do what we want. By listening to others, however, our ego reduces and if we go on listening to others we eventually are able to understand and follow God's wish due to our ego reducing.

Do not waste your spiritual energy

The spiritual energy that we gain through spiritual practice is extremely precious as it is used to propel our spiritual growth. In this article we discuss how our energy can be depleted if we are not careful.

A seeker should be Principle oriented and not person oriented

It is natural to be attached to one's spiritual guide or one's co-seekers. However, psychological attachment can be detrimental to our spiritual growth. Here we discuss this aspect in more detail