Can I be spiritual without being religious?
Part 1 – सम्बन्धः ─ sambandhaḥ ─ Relationships
Nowadays it is fashionable to claim that one is spiritual, but not religious.
Swami Paramarthanandaji examines the question “Can I be spiritual without being religious?” from the view point of emotional security gained by relationships. That analysis is given in Part 1 of this blog.
Please listen to 1 hour of Swamiji’s talk as per the following link.
Religion has become unpopular due to several reason, such as fundamentalism, social inequality due to caste system, superstition, empty rituals, outgrown customs and practices. People do not want to be sterotyped as a religious fanatics; many wish to be politically correct and dissociate themselves from any kind of ritualistic prayer. There is also a widely popular opinion that religion is unnecessary and a hindrance to spiritual progress. Many try to practise secular vedanta without any prayers, worship, bhajans or mantra japa to a personal deity.
What is religion? What is spirituality? What is the difference between these two? What is the difference between religious life and spiritual life? Is any of them optional? Which one is optional?
Sambandhaḥ
There are many views on religion and spirituality. Swamiji discusses from the standpoint of our śāstra ─ vedic scriptures.
The word religion or religious life is something connected with relationship ─ sambandhaḥ ─ yogaḥ. The word sambandhaḥ means relationship, connection, link, bond or connectivity.
Vedas are divided in karma kāṇḍa and jñāna kāṇḍa. Karma kāṇḍa portion of vedic scriptures deal with relationships. Relationships are inevitable due to the emotional security and support provided by these.
In the womb, we are related to our parents. After birth, we are related to our family members. Then we are related in the society. Relations start from the womb and continue upto the tomb.
Sambandhaḥ ─ yogaḥ, सङ्गः saṅgaḥ , these words mean inevitable relationships. The relationships influence our life very deeply. All relationships affect us both positively and negatively. Some of the aspects of our lives which are affected by relationships are
- Our physical health
- Our mental condition or emotions
- Our performance in life
- Our successes and failures
- Our prosperity
A very few good relationships can convert the earth into heaven and a very few bad relationships can convert the earth into a hell. Our mental conditions are affected either positively or negatively by varieties of relationships alone. The religious part of the scriptures point out that a human being should know and understand about relationships. This is said in karma kāṇḍa ─ the first part of the vedas.
After introducing the importance of relationships, the religion categorizes all our relationships into three major classifications, which shall be discussed in detail. There is no fourth classification and every relationship will fall into one of these three categories.
Home Work: Pause at this point and note down as many relationships that you can think of such as pets, plants, family, parents, children, school, friends, sports, temple, a mountain, a beach and so on. Check later if you can put these under any one of the three categories as below.
1. jīva - jīva sambandhaḥ:
This is relationship with all the other living beings, especially with the human beings. All family, neighbour and customer relationships come under this category.
Relationship starts in the womb itself, then expands to include family members, neighbours, guru kulam - fellow students, then the entire humanity - all of these are - jīva - jīva sambandhaḥ.
And this plays an important role in the society. Problems with bonding or lack of it can cause problems in the society. Swamiji gives an example where physical needs were met, but emotional needs were not provided for. Human bonding is very important and therefore scriptures point out the importance of jīva - jīva sambandha.
2. jīva - jagat sambandhaḥ:
Even at the time of birth we are related and connected to the environment. The child has to take the first breath - namaste vāyuḥ. We are all connected to jagat - consisting of the five elements and their products. We are connected to mother earth, water, agni ─ fire, sūrya - another form of agni, stars, planets, vāyu ─ air and आकाश ākāśa ─ space.
When human - jagat relationship is strained, environmental problems occur. An example is global warming. Religion says that it is due to the improper bond between humans and the environment.
3. jīva - īsvara sambandhaḥ:
All of us are the created being, and Īsvara is the creator. We have a relationship of creator - created and sustainer - sustained with īsvara. Īsvara is विश्व आधारं ─ viśva ādhāraṁ ─ Supporter of this universe. This relationship which is often ignored and forgotten is the most important one because this alone is the strongest and the longest.
All the other worldly relationships are fragile, unpredictable, uncontrollable and unsustainable. Even the strongest relationship is limited by time. Time can end any worldly relationship at any time. So the only stable, permanent relationship is with Īsvara. And this relationship is not in this janma. But janma janmāntarebiḥ ─ This relationship between humans and īsvara is in every birth. This is beginningless. Because jīva is anādhi. Īsvara is also anādhi and the relationship is also anādhi.
The advise from Veda is - do not neglect, but appreciate, acknowledge, preserve and nourish jīva - īsvara sambandha.
The teaching of the religion is appreciation, acknowledgement, preservation, promotion and nourishment of all these three important relationships which influnce the quality of our life.
How do I preseve and nourish these relationships?
We do many activities at thought, verbal and physical levels to maintain all these three relationships. Religion gives many practices which are based on very well known principles. We will take an example of the relationship between a child and its mother. Mother practices nitya dyānam at the thought level with the constant thought of the child.
All the religious rituals, customs, festivals and practices are nothing but kāyika, vācika, mānasa karmaṇi – physical, verbal and mental actions. All of them are meant for appreciating, acknowledging and preserving the three fold bonding. Many of our relgious practices are connected with human - human bonding – raakhi bhandan is an example. Mattu pongal – மாட்டு பொங்கல் day is celebration of bonding with cow. Sankranti day is meant for the sun – jīva - jagat sambanda. During Kumba Mela – we offer our prayers to the rivers. During śiva rātri, rudrābhiṣekam is performed to signify the bond with the lord - īsvara. Everyone requires a religious life and a ritual. Everyone should follow a traditional ritual or if traditional rituals are renounced, these have to be replaced by a fresh set of rituals. Religion and rituals are nothing but the bonding for our wellbeing. The ethical and moral values taught in the scriptures are meant for preserving these three fold bonds only. Whenever I violate any value, there will be a rupture in one of these bonds.
The rituals in the form of mānasa, vācika and kāyika are only a means and not the end. The end goal is keeping jiva-jagat relationship. Give importance to religious practices. But do not get carried away by that and miss the original purpose.
Some do research on the rituals and practices like the material used in Siva puja during Sivarathiri, like rudraksha, vilvam, honey and milk. Some do scientific study on the symbolism. We forget Siva after researching in vilvam. Priorities get misplaced. We need not probe into the details of the rituals. If it is interesting, one can pursue them. But getting carried away and missing the original purpose is unfortunate. We should not forget the bond, the relationship with me and Īsvara.
An atheist can avoid jiva-isvara sambanda, but needs to value the other two and do appropriate rituals. If we want long lasting security, it is possible only with our relationship with Īsvara. Hence one cannot avoid being religious.
What is spiritual life?
Handled in end part of veda - veda anta. Religious life is in veda pūrva. It is a life style connected with spirit. Spirit in this context is the absolute reality, which is the support of all relative things in the world. The absolute reality which transcends all relations, transcends all duality and which is the ādhāram – basis behind all the changes. If we want absolute freedom, it is possible only by pursuing the absolute reality.
Our freedom is only relative freedom. We do not have total control over our lives. We do have some freedom to control. Prarabdha karma heavily influences our lives.
Even Īsvara who is in the relative world has only a relative freedom and does not have absolute freedom. Īsvara cannot create a world as per his liking.
He being omniscient, omnipotent and compassionate he could have created a world free from diseases,atleast a world free from mosquitoes. His world has to be in accordance with conditioned by jīva’s punya papa karma. If you want absolute freedom you have to go beyond jīva-jagat-īsvara relativity and you have to go to the absolute which is beyond all these three. You have to go beyond relationship, beyond duality and beyond desa ─ space and kāla ─ time.
Puruśārtha Niścayam
In religious life, I am interested only in maintaining an appropriate relationship with īsvara. Whereas in the spiritual life I have fixed mokṣa as the primary goal. The religious life can be used either for material prosperity or for spiritual goal by changing the priorities of puruśārtha.
A person who is not interested in mokṣa is religious without being spiritual. When one addresses all the prayers only towards material prosperity, that person is not interested in moksa. When I seek kāma, artha and dharma alone, I am a religious person but not spiritual. When my prayer to Isvara is for leading me to moksa, then I become a spiritual person.
You can never be spiritual without being religious. We need īsvara’s grace for all our endaevours. Only Isvara Bhakti can provide long lasting emotional security.
Part 2 of this discussion will analyse the same topic from the view point of astika and vaidika darśaṇa.
Part 1 – सम्बन्धः ─ sambandhaḥ ─ Relationships
Nowadays it is fashionable to claim that one is spiritual, but not religious.
Swami Paramarthanandaji examines the question “Can I be spiritual without being religious?” from the view point of emotional security gained by relationships. That analysis is given in Part 1 of this blog.
Please listen to 1 hour of Swamiji’s talk as per the following link.
What is religion? What is spirituality? What is the difference between these two? What is the difference between religious life and spiritual life? Is any of them optional? Which one is optional?
Sambandhaḥ
There are many views on religion and spirituality. Swamiji discusses from the standpoint of our śāstra ─ vedic scriptures.
The word religion or religious life is something connected with relationship ─ sambandhaḥ ─ yogaḥ. The word sambandhaḥ means relationship, connection, link, bond or connectivity.
Vedas are divided in karma kāṇḍa and jñāna kāṇḍa. Karma kāṇḍa portion of vedic scriptures deal with relationships. Relationships are inevitable due to the emotional security and support provided by these.
In the womb, we are related to our parents. After birth, we are related to our family members. Then we are related in the society. Relations start from the womb and continue upto the tomb.
Sambandhaḥ ─ yogaḥ, सङ्गः saṅgaḥ , these words mean inevitable relationships. The relationships influence our life very deeply. All relationships affect us both positively and negatively. Some of the aspects of our lives which are affected by relationships are
- Our physical health
- Our mental condition or emotions
- Our performance in life
- Our successes and failures
- Our prosperity
A very few good relationships can convert the earth into heaven and a very few bad relationships can convert the earth into a hell. Our mental conditions are affected either positively or negatively by varieties of relationships alone. The religious part of the scriptures point out that a human being should know and understand about relationships. This is said in karma kāṇḍa ─ the first part of the vedas.
After introducing the importance of relationships, the religion categorizes all our relationships into three major classifications, which shall be discussed in detail. There is no fourth classification and every relationship will fall into one of these three categories.
Home Work: Pause at this point and note down as many relationships that you can think of such as pets, plants, family, parents, children, school, friends, sports, temple, a mountain, a beach and so on. Check later if you can put these under any one of the three categories as below.
1. jīva - jīva sambandhaḥ:
This is relationship with all the other living beings, especially with the human beings. All family, neighbour and customer relationships come under this category.
Relationship starts in the womb itself, then expands to include family members, neighbours, guru kulam - fellow students, then the entire humanity - all of these are - jīva - jīva sambandhaḥ.
And this plays an important role in the society. Problems with bonding or lack of it can cause problems in the society. Swamiji gives an example where physical needs were met, but emotional needs were not provided for. Human bonding is very important and therefore scriptures point out the importance of jīva - jīva sambandha.
2. jīva - jagat sambandhaḥ:
Even at the time of birth we are related and connected to the environment. The child has to take the first breath - namaste vāyuḥ. We are all connected to jagat - consisting of the five elements and their products. We are connected to mother earth, water, agni ─ fire, sūrya - another form of agni, stars, planets, vāyu ─ air and आकाश ākāśa ─ space.
When human - jagat relationship is strained, environmental problems occur. An example is global warming. Religion says that it is due to the improper bond between humans and the environment.
| Watch, note and appreciate the importance of jīva - jagat sambandha. |
All of us are the created being, and Īsvara is the creator. We have a relationship of creator - created and sustainer - sustained with īsvara. Īsvara is विश्व आधारं ─ viśva ādhāraṁ ─ Supporter of this universe. This relationship which is often ignored and forgotten is the most important one because this alone is the strongest and the longest.
All the other worldly relationships are fragile, unpredictable, uncontrollable and unsustainable. Even the strongest relationship is limited by time. Time can end any worldly relationship at any time. So the only stable, permanent relationship is with Īsvara. And this relationship is not in this janma. But janma janmāntarebiḥ ─ This relationship between humans and īsvara is in every birth. This is beginningless. Because jīva is anādhi. Īsvara is also anādhi and the relationship is also anādhi.
| Jīva - Īsvara sambandha alone is the most stable relationship which alone can give lasting emotional security. If we want emotional insurance, that can only come from Isvara. |
The teaching of the religion is appreciation, acknowledgement, preservation, promotion and nourishment of all these three important relationships which influnce the quality of our life.
How do I preseve and nourish these relationships?
We do many activities at thought, verbal and physical levels to maintain all these three relationships. Religion gives many practices which are based on very well known principles. We will take an example of the relationship between a child and its mother. Mother practices nitya dyānam at the thought level with the constant thought of the child.
All the religious rituals, customs, festivals and practices are nothing but kāyika, vācika, mānasa karmaṇi – physical, verbal and mental actions. All of them are meant for appreciating, acknowledging and preserving the three fold bonding. Many of our relgious practices are connected with human - human bonding – raakhi bhandan is an example. Mattu pongal – மாட்டு பொங்கல் day is celebration of bonding with cow. Sankranti day is meant for the sun – jīva - jagat sambanda. During Kumba Mela – we offer our prayers to the rivers. During śiva rātri, rudrābhiṣekam is performed to signify the bond with the lord - īsvara. Everyone requires a religious life and a ritual. Everyone should follow a traditional ritual or if traditional rituals are renounced, these have to be replaced by a fresh set of rituals. Religion and rituals are nothing but the bonding for our wellbeing. The ethical and moral values taught in the scriptures are meant for preserving these three fold bonds only. Whenever I violate any value, there will be a rupture in one of these bonds.
| Any value – dharma is to preserve our bonding with jiva, jagat or Isvara. When dharma is violated the relationships become sour. |
Some do research on the rituals and practices like the material used in Siva puja during Sivarathiri, like rudraksha, vilvam, honey and milk. Some do scientific study on the symbolism. We forget Siva after researching in vilvam. Priorities get misplaced. We need not probe into the details of the rituals. If it is interesting, one can pursue them. But getting carried away and missing the original purpose is unfortunate. We should not forget the bond, the relationship with me and Īsvara.
An atheist can avoid jiva-isvara sambanda, but needs to value the other two and do appropriate rituals. If we want long lasting security, it is possible only with our relationship with Īsvara. Hence one cannot avoid being religious.
What is spiritual life?
Handled in end part of veda - veda anta. Religious life is in veda pūrva. It is a life style connected with spirit. Spirit in this context is the absolute reality, which is the support of all relative things in the world. The absolute reality which transcends all relations, transcends all duality and which is the ādhāram – basis behind all the changes. If we want absolute freedom, it is possible only by pursuing the absolute reality.
| In the relative world, we can never have absolute freedom. |
Even Īsvara who is in the relative world has only a relative freedom and does not have absolute freedom. Īsvara cannot create a world as per his liking.
He being omniscient, omnipotent and compassionate he could have created a world free from diseases,atleast a world free from mosquitoes. His world has to be in accordance with conditioned by jīva’s punya papa karma. If you want absolute freedom you have to go beyond jīva-jagat-īsvara relativity and you have to go to the absolute which is beyond all these three. You have to go beyond relationship, beyond duality and beyond desa ─ space and kāla ─ time.
| The moment I choose absolute freedom as my goal and I begin to pursue that absolute freedom or that absolute spirit, the pursuit of that spirit is called spiritual life. |
In religious life, I am interested only in maintaining an appropriate relationship with īsvara. Whereas in the spiritual life I have fixed mokṣa as the primary goal. The religious life can be used either for material prosperity or for spiritual goal by changing the priorities of puruśārtha.
A person who is not interested in mokṣa is religious without being spiritual. When one addresses all the prayers only towards material prosperity, that person is not interested in moksa. When I seek kāma, artha and dharma alone, I am a religious person but not spiritual. When my prayer to Isvara is for leading me to moksa, then I become a spiritual person.
You can never be spiritual without being religious. We need īsvara’s grace for all our endaevours. Only Isvara Bhakti can provide long lasting emotional security.
Part 2 of this discussion will analyse the same topic from the view point of astika and vaidika darśaṇa.
