Spiritual Books

Today we think about spiritualism in moderate terms. We aim to live holistically, trying to satisfy both our spiritual and material needs, accepting what is being given to us by Nature or God, and without subjecting ourselves to the extremities of pain and pleasure. This is more or less a compromise of sorts, what some people prefer to call as spiritual materialism, which does not guarantee liberation but gives you an ability to withstand the pressures of life with greater understanding and patience. In today’s world, you may consider yourself a spiritual person, if you go beyond the immediate needs and concerns of your mind and body and search for answers about your existence and your relationship with the world around you. You are spiritual, if you lead a contemplative life, without abandoning your social and family responsibilities. You are spiritual, if you believe that you are a spiritual entity and identify yourself primarily with your inner soul or self, instead of your mind and body. It is also my conviction that belief in soul or God is not necessary to lead a spiritual life. God is perhaps an inadequate term to express the immensity and universality of the power that pervades all this, which is both personal and impersonal. It is impersonal when you look at the sky and contemplate upon the deeper space that stretches into eternity. It is personal when you hold your child in your hands and look into her eyes or when you hold a beautiful flower in your hands and let it enthrall you. The Buddhists do not believe in the existence of an individual soul or self. Yet it does not make them less spiritual. The Jains also do not believe in the existence of creator God, but the Jain monks pursue one of the most rigorous and austere spiritual practices in the world. They also venerate Thirthankaras, whom they consider as absolute and infinite beings. It is perhaps time we turn our attention from the externalities of religious rituals and primitive notions of God with a human form and envision Him as a universal Being, as described in some of our scriptures to know Him correctly and relate to Him directly. - From Author's Note, The Awakened Life