5 Myths Spiritually People Have To Deal With

Say the word ‘Spirituality’ and mental images of babas or gurus with ashrams in exotic locations and an army of loyal followers’ pop-up. Thanks to mass media propaganda, most people’s idea of spiritually people is that – babas or monks, who force you to turn vegetarian, leave alcohol and smoking, and practice yoga and meditation daily (Sounds more like my gym trainer!).

This is why it’s very difficult for most people to imagine spirituality as something so simple and yet so practical that it can be implemented in daily living. What’s more, most people who don’t practice any spiritual disciplines end up having a lot of misconceptions about people who do.

Here are some real-life examples –

The agnostic friend: "Oye saale tu spiritual hoke… daaru pe raha hai!” (Only Old Monk!)

The new office colleague: “Oh so you are a spiritual person…..That’s so cool… aap toh sex mein nahi believe karte hoge?” (Yes, I never let a girl go below my chastity belt!)

The non-spiritual parent: “Saara din meditation karne se life sort out nahi hogi…. Kuch kaam bhi karlo!” (Replace meditation with any other verb!)

So to help my fellow less evolved beings (pun intended :P) understand some practical aspects of spirituality, here’s a list of the 5 most common myths that people have about Spiritual People and their reality:

Myth #1: Spiritual People Don't Get AngryMyth: As a spiritual person I am not supposed to get angry or sad, I am supposed to be calm and relaxed all the time. How can I get angry and yet be spiritual? (Where’s that poker face you spiritual person?).

Reality: Spirituality isn’t about the absence of emotions; it’s about not identifying or holding onto them. So if you angry - you don’t stay in a perpetual state of anger, you feel the emotion completely, disassociate from it, let go and move on.

Myth #2: Being Spiritual Means I Can’t Smoke or Drink AnymoreMyth: If you are a spiritual person, you don’t eat non-veg, drink alcohol, smoke or even date. (Yes I am just going to go and meditate in my cave now!)

Reality: Spiritual people drink, smoke, make merry, and even eat non-veg. Yes certain spiritual disciplines like sadhus and monks do advocate abstinence from these things, however for most of us we don’t have to leave anything. That’s because spirituality is about detachment not renunciation.

In simpler terms, it means have fun drinking, but don’t identify yourself with it, if you need to reduce it/or give it for your benefit or someone else’s benefit, you can.

Myth #3: Spiritual People Are Very ReligiousMyth: If you are spiritual, you must be a very religious, and you must follow a lot of religious rituals. (Yes I have my own moonlight cult!)

Reality: I am spiritual but I am not religious. I don’t follow any particular religious practices. I eat fish on Tuesdays. Get haircuts on Saturdays, and the only reason I will feed a dog or a cow some food is because I love animals, not because my Rahu or Ketu is imbalanced.

Unlike, religion which has a certain set of religious beliefs and practices, spirituality is individualistic. You can chant and be spiritual, you can make love and be spiritual (Tantra), you can follow reiki practices and be spiritual. You can be Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christian and be spiritual. In fact traces of spirituality exist in every religion. In Islam, the Sufism sect is the spiritual sect – most sufi songs and practice are sang in praise of God as the divine energy (Think Khwaja Mere Khwaja). Similarly, the Indian Ocean song Kandisa is another spiritual song which praises God as the divine from the Syrian Aramaic Church in Kerala.

Myth#4: Spiritual People Haven To Believe In Karma and ReincarnationMyth: You need to believe in karma, past lives, and aura, etc. spiritual mumbo jumbo to be spiritual.

Reality: You honestly don’t need to believe or know your past lives, in aura energy fields, etc. to be spiritual. If you are living in the moment and enjoying life, you are being spiritual. If you are living with the intent to do what’s best for yourself and others, you are being spiritual. It’s just that simple!

Myth#5: Spiritual People Need To Meditate Daily Myth: I can’t be spiritual because unlike you I can’t meditate or chant daily.

Reality: People mistake meditation with spirituality, thinking closing your eyes and focusing on your breath so that you don’t have thoughts, is what spirituality is all about. That’s not true - Meditation is just one of the techniques to help you calm your mind so that you can focus and achieve a state of total focus and immersion. It’s a means to an end, but not the end in itself.

So what’s the end? Spirituality is, in its simplest form, being present in the moment. It’s about being so focused and so immersed in what you are doing (with full intent and concentration) that you experience the feeling of bliss which you get from doing what you love doing. So when you watch your favourite TV show and are oblivious to your screaming mother – you are meditating. When you are dancing on stage and complete immersed in it – you are meditating. When you are lost in your lover’s eyes and oblivious to the world – you are meditating.

One of the best mythical examples of being in this meditative state is Lord Shiva. In his Shiva form, he is conventionally meditating and completely immersed in it. In his Rudra form, he is fighting demons and completely immersed in it. In his Shankar form, he is attending to his family and completely immersed in it. And in his Nataraj form, he is dancing and completely immersed in it

That’s the beauty of Spirituality I guess – we all have done at some point of time in our lives, just we were never aware of it. .