Is Spirituality for Oldies ?

This is a question ....that is very common...
but spirituality is for every one ....tell me have you ever won
...any internal battle without 'your' self being the referee
and spirituality is all about ....the here and now....do you agree ?
as the one who is not a witness to the goings ...does not 'see'
...is aspiritual.... maybe religious...but not free !!!

Spiritual Out Of Box !

A Thin King was out of the box...
...or a thinking was out of the box ?

Is Living Spiritually ...different from living....
or is Living Spiritually .... a different form of living ?

(also in http://creativityinedu.wordpress.com)

Spiritual Graffiti !

Redefining Spirituality

( Here is a reproduction of my post from my other blog : http://bhaskarbenjamin.wordpress.com.... this urge to reproduce is based on positive feedback I received for the post...and would like to share it... with friends here....as well )

Redefining Spirituality

I have always felt that spirituality is spoken (actually meant to !) in the same breath as religion.

When we say a country….a person….a sect etc. etc. is spiritual…. what we actually mean is……..that the country….or person….or sect etc. is deeply religious ! ? !

While it is quite natural to assume that a spiritual ‘aspect’ is closely linked with GOODNESS (read GODLINESS)….and it is true as well…..it might be too far fetched to assume that an ‘aspect’ that is religious….would be spiritual…..

Then what is spiritual(ity) ?

There are many established definitions……and I would leave that to the readers imagination/scholarship…

….but I would like to redefine SPIRITUALITY as :

A LOVE AND RESPECT FOR LIFE….. AN unflinching FAITH in the universal code….and an awe for the creation…… and passion/honesty in one’s work…..

….Lets see how you feel about this……

...whatever…..but one thing is most certain……SPIRITUALITY IS NOT RELIGION !!!

~ posted by bhaskarbenjamin on June 9, 2008. in http://bhaskarbenjamin.wordpress.com

A Commoner's take on spirituality ......

A take on every day spirituality.....from a 'non-spiritual' person

What do I know of big big words
what do I know of philosophy.... or theories
I only know of simple things like these :
I live...want to be happy....wont hurt anyone... dont hurt me please !!!

We all own a beautiful world
lets not play the game of hit and miss !
lets spend our stay....here living and giving...
and for this.....we dont have to know..... more than this !!!

What is the need for a synthesis of SCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY ?

NEED FOR SYNTHESIS OF SCIENCE & SPIRITUALITY....... (an excerpt from my UN-mailed letter to Francis Crick ....Nobel laureate & co-founder of genes)

Dear Mr. Crick:

........."In a way I succumbed to the famous "Crick's Gossip Test". I have been reading/talking/thinking about certain things for many years but only recently have decided to do something about them--as you would like to call it !

I have been reading and reading bits and pieces and this most unscientific way of researching has crystallised certain "pre-hypothesis", if I may call it so, which I would like to share with you in the following inarticulate manner:

This world/universe/existence, whatever we may choose to call it, has been created out of knowledge. (You may call it awareness. Others might call it consciousness)
All thoughts (an altered form of knowledge) are possible to be converted into chemicals and vice versa.. In fact, they are converting this way or the other, on a continuous basis.
All human beings - and for that matter all animate and inanimate objects--as well as earth, fauna, flora, stars etc -- are different configurations of thoughts and chemicals.

WE ALL ARE MERE THOUGHT CHEMICALS.

So, could we call "That" unalterable portion of thought in the thought chemical as SOUL? Maybe it is too immature to conclude ?
Is the creator or God or whoever, KNOWLEDGE ITSELF ?
Undeniably a spectacular knowledge system is at work ! ( I would like to hasten to add that knowledge is not information -- and most certainly not data )

Take the example of DNA molecule. Is it an acid ? and yet has incredible knowledge. And RNA messengers !!! How can chemicals (As we know them so far ) behave in an intelligent manner. For that matter take all the nerve cell messages in our body. How does the cell know ? How does the gene know ? Is it not possible through a unique thought chemistry ?
How is the data or intelligence or information or knowledge, whatever you scientists call it, is stored in genes right through the ages ? Are we not hinting that gene is intelligent if we say that it undergoes mutations ? Can acids be intelligent ? There has to be an "element" of thought in these chemicals.
Some experiments in particle physics are bringing us closer to the reality that the 'myth' about light being the fastest traveller -- maybe is untrue after all. The obstructed particle (in one experiment) reaches faster to the other end of the tube than the unobstructed particle. Scientists are saying that the obstructed little guy produces its twin - across the barrier. How does a particle know ? Isn't it possible that it has a thought attached ???

And closer home, haven't we all noticed a change in mood (thoughts) with intake of certain chemicals . And of course, the converse that change of mood(thoughts) alters the body chemicals !

The karmic code of the Hindus and the genetic code as explained by science, to my mind is the same thing. But then it is not a total explanation. In fact, reading Hindu and Tibetan mysticism, I've been seized with a desire to cry out EUREKA many a times -- but then again, alas ! it would actually be premature !

But the Oriental mythology has many potent indicators to offer. There is a need , yes there is a NEED for research and fact finding out here !
The only aspect where I thought my pre-hypothesis was failing was with the inanimate objects. Can a chair or a spoon be a thought chemical ? But then reading about psycho-kinesis has changed my doubts into a certainty. Minds can move chairs/bend spoons only if there are similar thought-chemical receivers in these objects .

Maybe everything created--every artifact--retains some portion of the creator's thought (chair maker in this case). Well, maybe ! In any case, an object takes shape, first, only as an idea !
The Gaya's hypothesis stakes a claim that earth itself is a thinking organism. I tend to believe it. And I read, not too long ago, that a particular scientist in USA claimed that earthquakes/seismic disturbances are more likely in areas where people do not live in harmony with each other ! The collective thoughts of a race can alter the earth's chemistry or physics or geology if you like!

Have you, sir, wondered that food prepared with love and affection tastes better ? And have you, sir, nourished house plants with a tender, love-filled gaze ?

In fact, if thought-chemical universe is believed to be a reality then many riddles of para-psychology, psychology, mysticism, ESP etc. can be answered. (?)

And sir, in Homeopathy,when a solution ceases to contain a certain chemical (according to known chemistry) its potency in terms of its therapeutic dosage increases ! Could it be possible that on 'dilution' a chemical becomes a mere thought ???

And mathematics is sheer logic they say ! But the fact that an equation gets solved, to my mind, indicates an already existing structure/rhythm in the universe.. and quite rightly we call these as scientific discoveries !

Having said all this, where do I stand ? What is the answer ? If universe is "KNOWLEDGE" and we all are thought chemicals then why still the mystery of life ? I wish I could answer this one straight away. But what I can venture is this : Sub-knowledge particles (human beings/artifacts etc.) interact and make the model extremely complex. It undergoes millions and trillions of mutations. Pure knowledge seems to have been intertwined with a large number of knowledge variates -- or contaminations if you like !
The solution --- or can I say EVOLUTION , lies in changing the mind set if one has to know the secrets of the mind(or brain or soul )

Maybe it is possible that the free flow of pure/uncontaminated knowledge cannot be grasped by mere intellect. Maybe a combination of head and heart, so to say, is needed. for how can our brain provide enough room for studying its own intricacies ? Or does it ?
I have realised that cliches/folklore/aphorisms/wisecracks etc. carry in their chaff a lot of grain. Truth, sometimes can be found in the most unsophisticated of places. To give you an example : I've wondered since my childhood why do we call it a conflict of head and heart, when every thought is known to be in our heads ? But I was amazed to learn from an unassuming book on Yogic meditation that the centre of feelings and emotions is not in the head -- but somewhere in our chest--close to where our heart is !!
The only unfortunate aspect about these old sayings is that , so far, they lack scientific validation. Like I said before, there is a lot to be done out here !

East and West must meet !!!

And in case you are wondering why am I going on and on and on with my half-baked barrage of unintelligible words, I shall stop now. But let me make an attempt in articulating an explanation to the question (rising in my head or heart ?) that why I am writing to you:
I read in OMNI that a man called Francis Crick ---a Nobel laureate -- says that "key to understanding the mystery of soul does not lie in religion-or psychology-but in neurons. And I thought, how TRUE!
I do believe that KNOWLEDGE is there already-- existing somewhere in the suburbs---driven away from the big cities and highways of sheer intellectual data-bases and institutionalised skyscrapers of beliefs !!
In case my letter has evoked no positive response in your well-accomplished thought process then kindly feel free to write back a stinker.
Hoping to hear from you either ways......."

LET US PULL UP OUR SOQs....3

LETS PULL UP OUR SOQs....(Spirituality and other quotients)

Scientists now know that human beings ...normally...can see less than one-millionth of the total range of reality

Listen to the heart and use intellect as a useful servant !

Aristotle said :...." Mind of a man can develop to its full...when society has been organised so as to release him from the constant anxiety of contriving to stay alive "

Guts...our abdominal brain....It is the important centre of nerves connected to the sympathetic nervous system....behind the pit of the stomach....It takes an important part in control of emotions ...

Neils Bohr...the famous physicist said :..."Opposites are not contradictory but complementary"...in his famous PRINCIPLE OF COMPLEMENTARITY

EVERY DAY SPIRITUALITY

When a butcher cuts the portions of meat....and if he is good....they say his effort is not short of meditation....

...So....spirituality ....in all its simplicity would be to present in the HERE and NOW...

....and do ...whatever you have to do....with concentration....and honesty....

......Let big words....and even bigger analogies....not convert you into gullible seekers of the higher truth !

...keep smiling.....be honest.......and CREATE....CREATE....CREATE......

an idea...or poetry....or a painting....or a new way of looking at the whole thing !!!

... and pull up your spirituality quotient !!!

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE NOW !!!

Do we need to renounce the material world......?
( A question often asked by people nearing the end of life....as they perceive it !....and a question that is often scorned at....by those who are young.....and who feel that they still have a lot to live for !)

My take would be :

DONT EVER RENOUNCE THE WORLD....KEEP YOUR LUST FOR LIFE INTACT !

....but PLEASE RENOUNCE THE FIXATION WITH THIS THING CALLED MATERIALISM !!!

WHAT IS FLOW ?

FLOW : This is the ZEN idea of 'NO MIND'

....When Skills and challenge are matched....FLOW emerges !

.....When attention is fully focussed on "TASK AT HAND "

.....When SELF CONSCIOUSNESS DISAPPEARS ....!!!

A flow can be experienced....

....when a player hits a shot....a difficult one.....merely by focussing on the outcome....he is experiencing FLOW.

....when an artist/painter paints 'manically' straight from the inner eye....he is experiencing FLOW...

....when a mentor/trainer transcends the 'known' rules of the academia and communicates with the students at an 'un- explained inner level'.....THIS IS FLOW !!!

CREATIVE SPIRITUALITY !!!

Can we be creative in spirituality ?
Can we be spiritually creative ?
Can creativity be called as spirituality ?
Can spirituality be seen as a creative activity ?
Do we have to be religious to be called spiritual ?
Is religion the same as spirituality ?
What after all is spirituality ?


These are a few questions .....my questions....and I am sure these are your questions as well !

To answer these questions....we have to understand the terms involved !

Wikipedia defines these terms as :

Spiritual matters are thus those matters regarding humankind's ultimate nature and purpose, not only as material biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is perceived to be beyond both time and the material world.


Creativity (or "creativeness") is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts.

A religion is a set of beliefs and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos, and human nature, and often codified as prayer, ritual etc.

So....under the skin...it is all the same !!! or is it ?

My take is....you HAVE to be CREATIVE...in order to be TRULY SPIRITUAL....and vice versa !

And.... regarding religion....I shall leave this... as an input from you....please write !!!