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Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Rimban: Religion and spirituality
By Erwin Rimban
SINCE last Thursday, I have been discussing and sharing about the emerging relationships between science, psychology and spirituality. Now let us explore the differences between conventional religion and spirituality. And conclude by introducing the concept of mysticism.
Religion and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. We can say that conventional religion is concerned about all the exoteric practices that are related to the worship of a Supreme Deity. Religion is the sum total of the many different ways that a particular belief system is utilizing in its culture of adoration. Obviously, this includes sacred books, external worship practices, temples, sacred ceremonies, ways of salvation, and the like.
On the other hand, spirituality is a personal construct that involves the set of personal practices of a spiritual aspirant to organize his belief system. It can be comprehended as the attempt of a person to make his belief system more meaningful and personal.
When you go to church, you are practicing your religion. When you pray intensely at home, in the privacy of your bedroom, that is a spiritual experience. When you attend a baptism, that is a religious experience. When you meditate and reach a higher state of consciousness, that is a spiritual experience. When you join others of your faith in ritual singing, that is a religious experience. But when you participate in a healing session, with intensity and fervor, that is a spiritual experience.
It is easy to participate in religious experiences. But the spiritual experience is more personal. It is more involved. It is more intense. It is more captivating. It is more life changing. Many people go through life having many religious experiences but having none of the all-important spiritual experiences that can change a lifetime. But there are some who had intense spiritual experiences that have changed their perspectives of their self, and their place in the great schema of the universe. People around the world, coming form various religious systems, have reported intense spiritual experiences that have radically transformed their lives and the lives of their families. Spirituality is an experience that is sought for. It is a life-changing event.
Be religious. But, at the same time, never forget to be spiritual. For it is in being spiritual that you have the chance to express yourself in a personal way. There are many avenues to be spiritual. The experience does not need to be an exalting one to evoke spirituality, you know. Helping a friend is spiritual. Smiling at a child is spiritual. Comforting your sick relative is spiritual. Reading a sacred book, not necessarily from your religion, is spiritual. Creating a poem about the love of God can be a beautiful spiritual experience. Singing a song of praise in the privacy of your bedroom is spiritual. Even watching a good movie together with your spouse is spiritual. In other words, being spiritual is limited only by your imagination!
There is a distinct set of spiritual experience that is the gem of all gems. It is called mysticism. Let us try to understand mysticism. Metaphysics, a branch of philosophy, is the study of Ultimate Reality while Mysticism is the actual experience of Ultimate Reality. In other words, metaphysical insights are speculations about the nature of God while the mystical experience is the actual experience of the presence of God! A mystic, therefore, is a person who has had an actual experience of Ultimate Reality.
There are many mystics around the world, their names dotting the landscape of world history. All the religious traditions of mankind have produced mystics at one time or another. Examples of outstanding mystics are Plotinus of Alexandria, Lao Tzu of China, Pythagoras of Greece, Vardhamana Mahavira of India, Lord Sri Krishna of Hinduism, and St Theresa of the Roman Catholic Church. Even Boddhidharma, who initiated the discovery of some of the martial arts, was a mystic. Shrodinger and Heisenberg, pioneers of quantum physics, were mystics. Carl Jung was a mystic. Helena P. Blavatsky, renowned founder of the Theosophical Society, was a mystic.
My point here is that mystics are the universal products of the evolution of the human consciousness. They come from all countries and civilizations.
Mysticism is the most special kind of spiritual experience. It is the most wonderful. It is the most awesome. It is the most beautiful. A mystic experiences firsthand the love of God and the indescribable beauty of the spiritual world. It is the most life changing.
Mysticism is the gem of humanity. The mystics are the greatest champions of the human race. They are our greatest warriors, even though they fight no bloody wars. They are the greatest lovers, for they experience the ultimate ecstasy, union with the Infinite. They are the greatest explorers, for they probe the farthest reaches of the evolving consciousness. They are the ultimate testaments that humanity is meant for something larger, something bigger, and something more wonderful than our mundane existence.
Dear readers, I advise you to the study the life, works and experiences of the mystics. They can be life changing!
(Email reactions to wizardspen@yahoo.com or send snail mail to PO Box 1239, 2600 Baguio City.)
(April 13, 2005 issue)
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