SPIRITUALITY BEYOND RELIGION
By Bijoya Sawian
Spirituality is an integral part of religion. Sadly, it has been side lined for the glitz of endless rituals and the politics of hatred and suspicion .The tragic diversion from true worship stares at us hard in the face as we walk about with our eyes wide shut. Dreaming ,chasing only short term gains and instant karma.
Gandhiji believed that the roots of violence are-Wealth without Work/Pleasure without Conscience/Knowledge without Character/Commerce without Morality/Science without Humanity/Politics without Principles/Worship without Sacrifice. To this ,I humbly add-Religion without Spirituality.
Religion without spirituality is like a tree without leaves, a flower without fragrance, a river devoid of water ,a body without a soul. The unfortunate fact that spirituality is missing from our lives has led to discord and darkness within ourselves and, therefore, inevitably, in the world outside, causing much pain and mayhem.
We were all born spiritual but somewhere, somehow along the way we lost it. Being spiritual entails neither sitting in solitary prayer and meditation nor going to various places of worship with huge offerings .It simply means being a good human being living a virtuous life of Truth and Compassion where hatred, envy ,greed, sloth and violence find no place.
True worship lies in respecting all God’s creations, animate and inanimate. Respecting all human beings regardless of caste, creed ,class and colour, all other creations from the tiniest insect to the strongest animals, from the smallest rivulet to the mightiest of rivers ,from a blade of grass to the tallest and largest of trees. Thousands worship every day in churches, mosques, temples ,gurudwaras and other places of worship with such an obvious lack of godliness. They walk in with so many offerings in their hands and nothing in their hearts. What is the use? Rituals are only a small part of religion and worship. They are, in fact, optional. Putting your hands together in prayer is not as worshipful and spiritual as extending those very hands in helping someone in need.
The way we worship is an indication of how we perceive God and our relationship with Him. If our perception is shallow and superficial then everything we do is a reflection of this malady and our worship is a mere a gesture. If our hearts are not filled with love and compassion then following any denomination is but a formality .How does one achieve this harmony ? Live a life of Truth and Honour, Joy and Harmony, All religions teach the same but it is fashionable to find the differences rather than identify, nurture and celebrate the intrinsic oneness of all beliefs. Yes, we walk around with our eyes wide shut taking in only what would serve an immediate purpose. That is the tragedy of our times. Living a life of correctness is not easy but once one has crossed the blockade in the mind, the hurdles and the confusion within ourselves, it is not difficult. It simply demands clarity of perception of our purpose in life which does not include the bad and the ugly but only the good. It is frightening the way values are just tossed away like toffee wrappings and crushed under our feet like dry, dead leaves.
Among the Khasis,even before a hunt the rules that have been laid out are followed meticulously, to show respect to the Creator of all things and of the entire universe. First a prayer is said to Mother Earth ,Mei Ramew, paying respects the single most important entity of our human lives ,on which we live on and so do all the creations of God. One does not hunt beyond a specified number of days, the specified number of animals and
never during the breeding season. All over our hills we have the Sacred Groves where one is not permitted to touch a single leaf, kill a single bird or beast and defile the forest in any way. This has helped us preserve the ecological balance, keeping water sources clean and plenty and also the flora and fauna of the land. All these are acts of worship ,more important than going to man-made houses of worship .This is being spiritual this very act of respect and understanding of the environment By keeping the world outside in natural harmony one harmonizes within.
Over a hundred years ago ,Rangbah Orjo Sing wrote and composed a beautiful song which exemplifies that variety is God’s gift to Mankind and meant to enrich our lives.It is still sung in Seng Khasi . “Flowers of the land/This land of ours/They bloom and emit their fragrance/To glorify the Creator/. So many variety of flowers/Exist in this world/They have their own season/To glorify the Creator/. Birds too, so many kinds/Who God has created/Their have their own tones and tunes/To glorify the Creator. Thus with Mankind too /God has created so many different forms/Each one with his own tradition/To glorify the Creator.” We are meant to celebrate this immense variety. That is the design of the Great Divinity. How can we then, in the name of religion, indulge in violence
5 because of the very essence of all faiths : variety which symbolizes the multi-faceted dimensions of the Great Divinity and Super Consciousness who we call, God.
Among the Khasis ,there are no special prayers except during the main ceremonies like naming, marriage and death and also smaller one during housewarming and before starting new work or before a journey. Every good thought, word and deed of the day is a prayer, an offering to God ,U Blei , a spiritual act, matchless and complete. Infused into or lives is a special responsibility to live a life of virtue with God’s great gift as our guide, i.e our conscience.
That is spirituality the neglected aspect of religion, the pillar on which worship stands on. We have chosen to ignore this as we ride on mindlessly worshipping the new entities -Hatred, Intolerance, Violence. Bernard Shaw said long ago, a few words that still ring true, “Now that we have learn to fly in the air like birds and dive in the sea like fish, one thing remains-to learn to live on earth like humans.”
The Somali Kenyan poet, Warsan Shire wrote ,’later that night /I held an atlas in my lap/run my fingers across the whole world/and whispered/ where does it hurt?/ it answered, every where /everywhere/everywhere….
Is that the world you would like your children to grow up in and their children and grandchildren? As the year comes to an end and the festive season which began in October with the Pujas, followed by Eid, Guru Nanak’s birthday, Seng Kut Snem and closes with Christmas ,let us jointly pray for joy to the world and peace on earth .Let us make it a mission to change the world to a better place to live in. Each one of us is important like every single drop in an ocean. Do not look beyond yourself. You are the world and you can do it.