Why people turn spiritual.....

and the seeking of a more spiritual way of life crosses all relgions and world views. While many see the conversion of someone who practices a western religion to a more eastern viewpoint as someone who seeks spirituality, in reality there are seekers in every faith system. Some elect to find that spirituality within the confines of the faith in which they were raised and some outside of that faith.

In a way yes.
But there is a deeper meaning too. That meaning which is not relative. A deep rooted unity of all beings and actions. At the root of all religions lies the concept of love. Love thy neighbour, love is god. In love lies all unity. The eastern or western ways of life are historically shaped. Spiritual feeling and experience is not bound by history. Spiritual experiences are never through time or in time. They are spontaneous and occur as a flash. And then the world looks and feels different.

kids have the most genuine smiles, thirst for knowledge, infinite imaginations and lust for life... however when we become older, we loose those qualities whether through our schooling, church/temple/mosque/, work, family's influences,etc ... we start to feel alone, inadquate, imperfect, and wonder why we are really here on this planet...

for me spirtuality is not about being religious in a sense that one goes to rituals and follows rules by the book... it's about being able to connect to people and being happy with yourself... a content that comes from within... a need to enrich other people's lives rather than your own... a recapture of your innocent childhood and live your adult life to the fullest... matters not if there's a heaven or not, rather living your life good as you can and to the fullest... repecting your elders and cherishing your friends and honoring your parents... being spirtual is knowing why the choices you make and not worrying too much about how it's going to turn out...

I agree with one of the first posts posted about spirituality being a comfort. I am reminded of an anthropological article I read about the universality of common sense. There was an example of this one indigenous people that believed in witch craft. In the west we say that's a load of malarky. But examine how it plays out in daily life. A boy is walking, watching where he is going and trips. He blames it on witchcraft because if he was looking where he was going there was no reason for him to trip. Common sense is the way an individual culture explains the unexplainable. I think spirituality is a lot like that. If we accept god or some higher being or purpose than suddenly the unexplainable is explained and fate is a bit out of our hands. It can be an excuse to ignore the other painful things going on in our lives. Your favorite cousin just died, you weren't praying enough, but now you will and you are doing all you can to ensure he goes to heaven. I hope that makes sense. To be fair I am in a very cynical phase of my life right now anyway...

[QUOTE=lucky]In a way yes.
But there is a deeper meaning too. That meaning which is not relative. A deep rooted unity of all beings and actions. At the root of all religions lies the concept of love. QUOTE]

No, actually, while many faith systems see God as love or love from one being to another as part and parcel of that system, there are maany faith systems where love of others, God or self is not a part of it. Rather a respect or "Fear" of deity is the norm. While some would equate respect with love, that is a western concept in many ways. I can think of several religions which historically have not required love to worship in any way. Further I believe the Christian faith system has not always taught the "Jesus is love" concept, rather stressed duty by fear as a way of reaping reward in an afterlife.

I think also that because a lot of the planet is in conflict at the moment its affecting people.
We are seeing on the news in the papers the worse side of humanity and sometimes i want to turn my back on it all and just dis-engage myself from people.
Maybe thats why some people need to find something else.

Spirituality is in my view a way for many people to come to terms with the question of whether there is reason for our existence.It seems that the thought that there really could be no "reason" for human existence is something that sits uneasily with many folk.Organised religions have taken advantage of this and used peoples fears to accumalate large dynasties.Hope is the carrot dangled in front of followers but for most people no matter how far they travel the carrot always seems just out of reach.

Reality is an oppinion not a fact.

wow! been watching the The Matrix reruns, have you? :-)

When you realise that feeding your body is less important than feeding your soul you begin to understand why food and water are only ways to keep the shell that your spirit dwells in, alive , and that the true reason for life is not to feed or comfort your body but to comfort your mind / soul . your body can survive on a small amount of food and water, but your soul needs love, friendship, communication, freedom, understanding, will power, justice, promise, hope , spiritual connection , and belonging, i'm sure there are many more things i have most likely left out but hey thats my two cents!!!!

I pratice connecting with life (spirituality) because it makes me high. I love so much really feeling the essences of another person, animal, plant, rock. It just makes me happy.

One of the most common misconceptions is that westerners are materialistic and individulaists, whereas Indians are not. That can be furthest from the truth. Indians are extremely materilaistic and yes they are individualists as well. Examine Indian immigrant communities around the world and you might come to the same conclusion. Indians leave India not for political or refugee reasons but rather to make their lives better, that is for purely economic reasons.

Indians in India are also caught up in the so called rat race. This is of course truer in urban centers. Many families need both the parents to work outside of the home and the traditional understanding of family is not true anymore.

I think that spirituality is not anti-material, anti-wealth, etc. The traditional dichotomy between material and spiritual (with material being bad and spiritual being good) comes from Greek thought, where the body is seen as evil and the soul as good, and also with some Hindu thought, with true spirituality being defined and getting dis-entangled with material concerns.


Sprituality should at the very least provide a sensible explaination of life, with all it complexities: joys and horrors. For me personally, spirituality is really something that provides a framework for understanding life, a sort of meta-narrative, not so much the specific practices or even interests.

If anyone wants to react to this, please do. I stop now because I don't want this to get too long.

And you are one???
Sorry couldn't help asking this.
But time has changed and India/Indians as not as same as you described.

Vinay Verma:

Yes I am one. I think you missed the point by your? Mine was one response to an underlying assumption that came from the original posting. Also, I am unsure what you mean that "Indians are not the same as I describe" Could you flesh that out more than just stating it. Perhaps this can become a helpful dialogue. Thanks Vinay...