What is Spirituality and Spiritual Wellness?
Spirituality is a way of life and at the same time it is hard to define too. It helps to improve the quality of life for people with chronic ailments, further more with clarity of life purpose.
Spiritual Wellness may be defined as expanding a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Why is it important to incorporate spirituality in our lives?
When we strengthen our spiritual wellness,
we strengthen our relationships with others around us;
we breathe positivity in to the spaces we occupy;
we become mindful and be in stillness and peace
we practice compassion and resilience
we take responsibility and accountability for our own actions
It helps us in making our choices easier, ground us during challenging times to survive with grace and peace.
When we become aware and conscious, the shift happens to ‘how can I make a meaningful contribution in my life for myself as well as others, what is the legacy I will leave behind?’
Today we see suffering all around us, man-made mental suffering added to the physical. This compounds the emotional suffering and it gets reflected in our behaviour. This suffering indicates the absence of spiritual truth. The only way we can sail through the turbulent times is to integrate spiritual practices in our lives. Let’s start to nourish the spiritual identity.
Take a moment to assess your own spiritual wellness by personal reflection:
- What gives my life meaning and purpose?
- What gives me hope?
- How do I get through tough times?
- Where do I get comfort?
- Do my values guide my decisions and actions?
Let us ponder up on!
The Bhagavad Gita says, spiritual Wisdom can bring about intellectual health which results in moderation in lifestyle, habits, emotional control, control over fear, desires, peace of mind. It raises the self-esteem, improve communication, relationships with the society, It finally restores social health, mental and physical health. The timeless message of the Bhagavad Gita does not refer only to one historical battle, but to the cosmic conflict between good and evil. Life as a series of battles between spirit and matter, soul and body, life and death, knowledge, ignorance, health and disease, self-control and temptations.
Let us see the learning for us from Chapter 1 Verse 1
DESIRE!
It is inextricably linked to the senses and habits. The Saints calls this ‘foe-man’s greatest enemy’ because it is desire that ties the soul to endless rounds of rebirths in the realm of delusion. An important battle the soul must win consists in rising above all personal desires- whether for money, mental power, physical health, name, fame- whatever binds the soul to matter. Many people unsuccessfully strive for a material goal all their lives, failing to realize that if they had put forth one-tenth of the concentration used in seeking worldly things in to an effort to find Divine’s Grace, they could have fulfilments. The spiritual aspirant therefore learns to conquer in all battles in order to free themselves from every cause of darkness.
