As far as I can think back, I could never accept the fact that someone can advise me on what I can do or what I cannot. I don't know if it was the culture or the environment or the people I have been associated with, I always thought I knew exactly what the right thing to do was? I could never accept advices like, speak the truth or follow the path of god or accept failures as a fact of life and move on, etc.,... Well, there is some truth to any advice and in an ideal world, it all sounds good. But, I think there is a big fudge factor to every ideality and one cannot follow rules. What does this have to do with spirituality? one might ask... What about us that defines what is right or what is not? Why do I not seek a solution into believing in ideas which seemingly acts as a panacea to a majority of people ? Or, am I believing in certain ideals implicitly that I dont realise?
Fundamentally, I consider all living things as a big normal distribution with the stronger beings on one side and the weaker on the other. No wonder why survival of the fittest took control and continuously pushes the distribution to the stronger side. In such an environment, given that humanity comes under a single umbrella, what is the hope for the weaker side? I think spirituality solved the problem. Firstly, it gives hope for those who strive to be on the stronger side. Also, it says other things like, if you lead a good life (honesty, hard-work etc.,) , you will lead a great life in the next life and that, money is not everything and that dignity and life-style will make everyone remember you... I think these are ways to console oneself and attribute a reason to their weaknesses. Though I may sound sarcastic and blunt when I say all of this, I should also accept the fact that this is the only reason why the world still exists... One might say that law and order and other factors play a role in keeping us intact. I dont think so... Assume a case when there is always a war between the strong and the weak, the world may not be a good place to live in... One could argue that, there are still wars between the stronger group and the weaker group...But, I am talking about the micro levels...
I cannot stop but admire the vast majority of people who take up the most difficult of jobs and yet, hold on to their dignity and not divulge themselves into a multitude of other criminal activities they could do to break the system. If enough people start thinking the wrong way, I am sure the world wouldnt be a better place to live. Spirituality keeps them under control, which, even the strongest of governments cannot achieve very easily...I really do admire the hope in everyone...When I look down on someone, I also realise that there is someone stronger than me commenting on how contended and happy I am with the life that I am leading... Am I spiritually controlled? I dont know. May be, spirituality isn't something that is quantified as how religions define it.. Hmmm...Am I on the weaker side of the spectrum and am I just inventing a way to justify my beliefs on what I think is right? I dont know...
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Is Spirituality for the weak?
Posted by Suresh Sankaralingam at 9:03 PM
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5 comments:
if spirituality was invented to help people choose right and wrong., then what was the role of morality?
I don't know the answer, but I always thought morality was invented as blanket rules to achieve statistically harmony. As always if you take individual acts apart- one finds defining morality very difficult.
I think being content and hopeful under duress (as you have mentioned towards the end of your text) is really the role of spirituality- or some may argue that is too narrow a definition?
I Don't know either. But I have never really understood either concept.
when something happens beyond your control, spirituality gives more support/courage to people, than what other human beings can provide them.. This is my take on spirituality.
But does it make all the human-beings goody good ? Not entirely. I think moral values plays more role on them being good (and also getting caught or embarassment of facing the family/friends when they do 'not-so-goody-good-acts'.
Anyone can work hard or steal or kill (indirectly steal) to make their lives better. What they choose, depends not only on spiritual thinking. What do you mean by strong or weak here ? If one can kill/steal, is he strong ? Or if one works hard or intelligent enough to make more money, is he strong ? (Im confused now! Dont make me think)
Mindframes, you always bring diverse topics to this blog. Thats good.
After seeing the above comments, I think preaching about what is right and wrong is about morality and preaching about accepting one's failures is about spirituality.
And thats where weaker and stronger come in to picture,I guess.As to sdpal's statement, when does spirituality bring strength to people...I think it is when they feel helpless and weak.So, I guess everyone is weak in certain things and stronger in others. And as Mindframes pointed, yes it does give hope to the weakest,as they might feel totally helpless.
My two cents worth... From what I have read about spirituality, they talk about detachment (Vairaghyam) from worldly wealths and (Vivekam,aka wisdom)distinguishing between mortal and immortal. Ok..I don't want to get too deep into it.Think about it..if you are detached , you need not worry about whether you are weak or strong...if you know that there is nothing immortal in this world, you may not really care about anything. That said, as Mindframes pointed,for an average human being, it doesn't make sense to be detached and not have ambitions in life . But, there are people who strive to be detached from everything and have that as their ambition.It is not easy. And there are umpteen others who hide behind the cloak of spirituality for not striving hard enough.
I want to clarify a little on the terms used. I used the term spirituality in the context of religiousness (m-w supports my assumption..:))...From that aspect, I think morality is an outcome of spirituality (in the bigger picture if you think about the root cause).
I am in line with survivor's thoughts on strong/weak and am perfectly in line with the statement, "....And there are umpteen others who hide behind the cloak of spirituality for not striving hard enough..."...
Very "Strong" people have their own belief system which can be equated to religious belief system.
One more thing to remember is, spiritual people may looked down on non-spiritual people also.
Does this mean I am strong? I don't know (I just feel like using your end note :) )
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