Essentialism of Spirituality to blossom in life: Economist's perspective

- an  extract from a lecture given at World Confluence of Humanity Spirituality an Power on 3rd January 2012

Essentialism of Spiritualism is a big question whose cost-benefit analysis would take decades, if not centuries, to value.  This is partly because of the qualitative nature of spiritualism and partly because of the lack of methods to quantify its effect. But more importantly, it is because of the lack of understanding of what constitutes spiritualism and spirituality.

Spiritualism and Religion are considered to be synonyms, just as ethics and spiritualism are looked upon as the same thing.  However, the three- Spiritualism, Religion and Ethics are fundamentally and structurally different. There is a strong causality between them but that is only a channel for co-existence. Without a doubt there is correlation between either of the pairs but they are not identical.

Let’s begin by clarifying what is spiritualism, religion and ethics? ‘Spiritualism’ refers to the science of self realization. It refers to the search of the inner path which enables us to discover the essence of our existence on this earth. It is nothing but soul searching. ‘Religion’ on the other hand is the medium employed or the methodology to discover spiritualism. Choice of religion is just a complexified version of a simplified problem- choice of airline to reach a desired destination.  The choice of the latter is usually determined on the basis of two key parameters- price and comfort. On the contrary, the choice of religion is a lot more complex with dynamically evolving variables some of which are lagged to ancestral times. Last of all ‘Ethics’ could be social, cultural, personal and professional. Some are forced upon us while others are chosen by us based on our intrinsic beliefs. Usually individuals follow the self chosen ethics and most often find ways to circumvent the imposed ones depending upon situations.

Clarifying the difference between the three is imperative to answer this complex question in a simplistic way. Clearly, now it can be established that Spirituality/Spiritualism is sufficient to blossom in life however religion is neither necessary nor sufficient.   As William Irwin Thompson said, "religion is the form spirituality takes in civilization”, implying that even an atheist can be spiritual, if he has discovered the path to his inner self. Secondly, ethics is necessary but not sufficient to blossom in life. It is necessary, as ethics enables a thinking mind which makes choices on which virtues to follow and which vices not to. However, it is not sufficient to succeed in life as the choices do not come with a disclaimer that they are the correct choices.

Choices of ethics is a like a game of ‘snakes an ladders’ where right choices of virtues act as ladders fast-forwarding you closer to spirituality and success and wrong bets on vices result in snake bites spiraling one downwards to the starting point. Hence a calculative optimization of the virtues and vices is crucial for long termed progress and spiritual development. Some vices may seem lucrative in the short run giving quick returns in a short span of time or open doors to an indirect way forward. However, they are often associated with hidden snakes and in fact some of them can end up being fatal as well.  On the contrary, a virtuous path may seem slow at the start but as it goes on, it picks pace and also reduces the probability of a fatal blow due to the strong virtuous foundation.

Deep down within us we all know what is good for us; we know the right path to success. But the length of this path and the challenges it has in store entice us to shirk away from it towards short-cuts which more often than not turn out to be longer in reality. I believe that growth in any level happens only when one introspects into one’s strengths and weaknesses and works according to one’s capability. This applies equally well to individuals, families and economies. We all need to discover our ‘Swadham’ or the birth nature and then work towards it. The creator has made each one of us a distinct piece of a big jigsaw puzzle and only when we do the role designed for us would we fit perfectly in to the puzzle. However, we need to discover this designated role for us which can only come from introspection and self realization. For instance, if a person has a natural inclination towards music he/she needs to develop this and become a musician. An athletic person should not try to become a doctor, he should explore sports. We must realize in each and every one of us that there is someone and we shouldn’t try to become someone else but become that someone and it is only then would we grow and be successful.

Most of you would say that this choice of ethics and path to spirituality is not as simple as I have exemplified it above. However, I still disagree with you all. The path is only as difficult as you make it out to be. Let me give you two simple examples which would help you realize that each and every one of you has already done a phase of deep rooted spiritualism which fascinated rapid self growth.  First, when a foetus is conceived it is merely 1 gram in weight. However in 9 months it develops senses and mobility and weighs at least 2700 gram. This enormous speed of development was partially because of genetics and the mother’s nutrition level but primarily because the child was inclusive. The nine months in the mother’s womb was a phase of self realization and growth. Similarly, a child grows from a toddler who can barely speak, walk and think to become a mature adult, who has developed his/her, senses to think they way he/she wants. It is only introspection and following your inner self which leads to development.

Having understood the broad key to success- discovery of swadham, I now outline three steps which if absorbed and implemented are necessary and sufficient for success. These being Simple, Smile and Sach (Truth). Keeping things ‘simple’ in this complex world would not only reduce the gravity and size of the problems we encounter but would also facilitate the hunt for solution. ‘Smile’ inculcates a positive attitude and enables one to turn every challenge to an opportunity. Finally, ‘sach’ and by this I do not mean truthfulness to all but truthfulness to oneself. When you are true to your soul it enables you to work better and faster. It is also a key attribute to determine ones swadham.

These three S’s would lead to success in every endevour and in every sphere of life.