And let there be light...

By Shilpi Shukla Alexander
Eminent spiritual leaders bust some of the most common myths about spirituality. Read On...


I should first rid myself of all sin and be pure to grow spiritually.

Not quite so. Without the knowledge of what we truly are, we will always find it difficult to rid ourselves of sin. In the opinion of Brahmakumari Sister Shivani, to rid ourselves of sins and then grow spiritually is like healing ourselves first and then seeing a doctor. She says, “Spirituality is healing. It is the journey of shifting our focus and thereby our behaviour from body consciousness [ego of all the acquired labels in our lifetime] to soul consciousness. It is then that we return to our true consciousness of a pure being.” Sadhvi Bhagwati, an American who adopted sainthood and devoted her life to serving mankind 14 years ago, feels that it’s only after we embark on a spiritual path that we grow aware of our innermost qualities and divine nature. And it is then that we shun all wrong deeds. “It is then that true transformation happens,” she says.

I can’t be spiritual if I am still interested in gathering material possessions and making money.

“Blessed are those who have material wealth for they have the opportunity to help the poor and needy,” says Swami Ramdev. Spirituality is a way of being, thinking and interacting. He adds, “To say that the rich and affluent are not spiritual is wrong. I know many who are more enlightened and Godly than many of us. A person should not be greedy, miserly, overambitious and too money-minded.” The essence is to not run after wealth. In the words of Sister Shivani: “We earn, buy and use but not for pleasure but physical comfort. We understand that everything material is designed for the comfort of the body, but our happiness is our creation and it is independent of anything or anyone outside. This means that we don’t earn them so that we will be happy, but we are happy while working to earn them. Money or no money, if this aspect doesn’t disturb our state of happiness, there is no problem with amassing wealth.”

To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Spiritual master Osho believes that to err is human and to forgive is also human. Osho’s philosophy is, “If forgiving is divine then you are raising the level too high, beyond human reach. Bring it within human reach and learn to forgive.” As per Sri Sri Ravi Shankar of the Art of Living Foundation, it is important to respect a bad person. “There is a saying in Sanskrit: durjanam prathamam vande sajjanam tadanantaram.First worship the bad person and then the good one. The bad man is falling and giving you an example, ‘don’t do what I did.’ Do not hate a prisoner because he’s a criminal. Consider him to be an embodiment of God. He has done you a great service. Don’t ever hate a drug addict because he has given you such a beautiful lesson, and he has been given that role. He is just performing his role,” says Ravi Shankar. It doesn’t matter what happens, regardless of the nature of the event or the sharpness of the words intended to insult, our response is always our own creation. “When we forgive someone, we actually do ourselves a favour because through forgiveness we release all the negative thoughts, emotions and energies that we are holding onto in our anger. By replaying the moment again and again in our mind, torturing ourselves in so many ways, we hurt ourselves more than anyone else does. This is a deep realisation,” says Sister Shivani. It’s never them, it’s always me is a deep realisation indeed!

(There are many such myths that often block an individual's spiritual growth. To read the complete article and tread on the path of the Divine with a better understanding, pls visit the site page of Complete Wellbeing)