How should we be living as spiritual people? What should our position be on issues like nationalism, bigotry and the refugee crisis? What about religion and our choices for the way we live our lives? These are the opinions of a spiritual person.
First we have to ask, what is a spiritual person?
Simply put, it is someone who has distanced them self from their ego and has discovered all-inclusive love.
If you agree with this definition of a spiritual person and you are, or try to be, such a spiritual person, then the answers are easy.
Nationalism
Nationalism is placing importance on one’s own country over other countries. It may be a sense of superiority identified with nationality.
Anyone who experiences truly inclusive love cannot be a nationalist. Populist nationalism currently sweeping western countries is counter to the spiritual sense of universal love.
We must love people equally and independently of their nationality. As we love our next-door neighbour, so we must love our neighbour on the other side of the border.
The spiritual experience makes this clear and leaves no option for any other kind of limited or conditional love.
Bigotry
Bigotry is intolerance for anyone who has a different opinion to yours.
Social media gives us the opportunity to express our opinions and to have them heard far and wide like never before in the history of humankind. It exposes us to diverse opinions every day. Some we agree with… and some not. We easily get swept away and react emotionally.
This is fertile ground for bigotry to thrive.
And where bigotry thrives, spiritual intelligence dies.
Spiritual people have two tendencies:
- They invest less importance in their own opinions. They are open to other opinions and they express their disagreement if necessary. But they find no reason to do so aggressively… because they do not see any ultimate importance in winning an argument or elevating their particular opinion.
- Most importantly, they never attack another person. Each and every person has the right to their opinion. We are all human beings with imperfect perceptions of reality and biased opinions. All of us are worthy of compassion. Let us listen to one another and love one another more… and talk less.
You may despise nationalism and bigotry. But don’t despise the nationalist and the bigot.
You may despise the homophobic jokes or the sexist comments, but open your heart to still love the wounded soul uttering them.
Refugees and economic migrants
If you have inclusive, selfless love in your heart you simply have to be open to refugees. You have to be open to the plight of migrants who are suffering the effects of war, famine or economic strife in their own lands. Close the door to them and you have closed the door to your spiritual self.
I hear pragmatists saying this is idealistic. The receiving economies can’t cope, or the cultures will clash, or terrorists are amongst us. These things may be true. But, if we choose our spiritual natures over our animal natures we have no choice but to help them… even if that means a lowering of our living standards and a compromise to our physical security.
Ironically it is lowering of living standards and compromising on all the securities and conveniences we hold dear that ushers in opportunities for spirituality. The most spiritual people have let go of their personal aspirations and thrown themselves into serving others.
The way we live our lives
It’s a simple choice. We can live for ourselves or we can live for others. Simple… but extremely difficult.
A spiritual person does not make pragmatic choices. He or she does not make good business decisions. These things are not important once you have tasted inclusive, selfless love. Personal aspirations become dark attractions to your opened mind and soul. Outward focussed, boundless love sets you free from the dark little nooks and crannies of your ego.
The way you live your life is informed by love.
The details are different for every person, depending on their resources and personal circumstances. And dependent on their individual personality… or calling.
The details of how you do it are not important. What is important is that you live with love. Whether you change the world or change the day of the person sharing a coffee with you at the work canteen, the basic ingredient is the same: inclusive love.
Religion
Religion in the sense of a set of institutionalised doctrines can be a problem.
It’s a problem if it is seconded to prop up nationalism. It is a problem if it leads to bigotry. And it’s a problem if it justifies or encourages a life of personal aspirations.
The spiritual person sees his or her religion, if he or she has one, as a guide for assisting on the spiritual journey. It is a guide amongst many others in the world. None have a monopoly on God. They are all systems that developed and thrived through various pioneering minds in particular areas of the world at various times, and through fortuitous circumstances and convincing coincidences.
It is a testament to the divine nature of human beings that religions developed all over the world throughout history. The richness of humanity’s wisdom traditions shows we have a spiritual yearning and we seek systems, symbols and stories to address these yearnings.
The spiritual person respects all religions as part of this age-old history of humanity’s spiritual yearning. He or she tries to understand each tradition’s wisdom in its context. There are similarities that are cause to share and enhance. And there are differences that are opportunities to explore and learn from.
The spiritual person respects all people whatever their opinions and beliefs. But religious fundamentalism and exclusivist pseudo-religiosity is rejected. Those tendencies in religion are distinctly unspiritual… they are more akin to hatred and fear than love.
Final word
We should see that so many things like nationalism, bigotry and fundamentalist religion are creations of our egos. Let go of your ego and open yourself to all-inclusive love.
Love all people, regardless of nation, race, opinion, religion or anything else… even if it means some sacrifice for you.
That is the path to a happy life. And to a sustainable and equitable society.
I am looking for something that will give me peace and to feel that there is something other than myseld
Thank you, like a cool,decent person. Thinking that the wold has 7.3 billion people ,all people(human) countries must start talking about birth control ,plastics getting into our sea,destroying fish stocks,etc etc etc.WE one world ,the only one we know of,cannot sustain much more than this. Should be talked about at UN.(religion) and birth control .
Thanks
Absolutely right