Human Spirituality

It is accessible to an average / ordinary person. It is not super-natural experience.
Here, no attempt is made to define Human Spirituality (HS) - but, only a sketch of certain characteristics / aspects of HS are noted. The following list is not exhaustive. Certain points may be overlapping.

1. Sense of wonder / astonishment / curiosity ... (say, when we take a look at the vast universe, multitude forms of life on this planet...)
2. Joy of discovery / invension / insight & understanding
3. Being imaginative / creative / striving for excellence.
4. Spirit of exploration / learning / adventure.
5. Artistic pleasures : music, painting, works of art, dance, drama etc.
6. Reading (elegant prose etc), writing (translation, letters etc); listening to a good talk / lecture.
7. Wit & humour.
8. Spirit of giving. Feeling that I am helpful for a few people.
9. Commitment to relationships.
10. Cooperative spirit : team work for a good cause. Solidarity with fellow human beings.
11. Sportive spirit . Spirit of tolerance; forgiving; admiring others' achievements.
12. Empathising with those suffering from infirmities.
13. Feelings of sorrow - for the loss of someone dear to us.
14. Romantic experience.
15. Conciousness of the past, present & future (we stand on the shoulders of past generations)
16. Spirit of humility.

The non-human spiritual things (downside) may have some uses... Probably, survival value, self defense etc.

The brain processes underlying these emotions / feelings / thoughts / ideas / experiences may not, by themselves, distinguish the spiritual from non-spiritual. The above categories of spiritual & non-spiritual may be personal, social constructs & are arbitrary.

Those listed above as spiritual enhance / extend our sense of selfhoood.

There is no doubt that features of human spirituality are also present in the lives of believers (i.e., those who draw their sustenance / inspiration from faith in god or some other supernatural source). However, only contemplation / meditation on god or experience of god (in some form) is accepted as 'spiritual' by them; That is their understanding of spirituality. For believers, the rest of self enhancing experiences / activities are merely 'mundane' or non-spiritual.

Human spiritual experience / ideals are attainable / accessible to ordinary mortals (like me).

Source / Credit : Dr. Gurudutt.

17th May, 2008.