How can we live a spiritual life? Why is it important?

What does it mean to live a spiritual life? Most people think that to live a spiritual life, one should retreat into a forest or somewhere in the mountains in solitude. People believe that to be spiritual, we must give up everything, our family, friends and possessions, live in isolation and even appear mystical — wear a rosary of beads, grow long hair, and wear saffron robes. But this is not what spiritual life is. Spiritual life is not about appearances and renunciation — it is about realisation, the realisation of the truth.

To understand what spiritual life is, we must understand the meaning of spirituality. Spirituality is the science of the spirit. It is about discovering who we are — we are not this body, mind and ego; we are the Spirit, the Soul, a Spark Of Unique Life. Spirituality leads us to the realisation of the truth, to self realisation, God realisation and ultimately, to unification with the Divine, the ultimate goal of life. Spirituality is the way to eternal bliss, peace and joy. A spiritual life is not about 'leaving' the world but 'living' in the world as the Divine Soul. It is not about suppressing material fantasies; it is about being able to transcend the mind and its wandering, the body and its desires and cravings, the ego and its ignorance. When we can transcend the body, mind and ego and live as the Divine spirit, the Soul, the Atman, then we start living a spiritual life. We live with acceptance and surrender; with faith, forbearance, enthusiasm; love, peace and bliss. We don't have actually to give up this material world. In fact, it is only when we live in this material world that we can be spiritual.

We must realise that this world is nothing more than a stage, a drama, and life is nothing but a show; we are actors who come and go. We must realise that God is not God, but SIP, the Supreme Immortal Power. Everything is SIP. God is everywhere and in everything.

To live a spiritual life, we also have to live with certain qualities like discrimination, the ability to differentiate between right and wrong, between the truth and the myth. We must use our intellect. We have to flip over from the state of mind to the state of Consciousness the state of thoughtlessness, and mindfulness. We must not blindly follow the herd, believing everything we are taught. We must Ask questions, investigate our findings and arrive at the truth.. We must be able to overcome our passions and temptations. We must be disciplined. We must not crave anything. If something comes our way, we must accept it as prasad. We must realise that this material world of success, name, fame and achievement can never give us true happiness. Finally, there must be a deep yearning for the Divine. Our yearning for the Divine must be more than a miser's yearning for gold, a lover's yearning for his beloved, a child's yearning for its mother that it has just lost. When we reach the state of being disciplined and we seek the Divine, we become a Yogi, one who is in Yoga, one who is ever-united with the Divine. People, unfortunately, don't know the true meaning of Yoga. Yoga is not performing asanas (physical exercises), or practising pranayama (breathing techniques). It is being in union with the Divine. That is Yoga, be it through Dhyana Yoga or meditation, Bhakti Yoga or devotion, Gyana Yoga or education, or Karma Yoga or action. Besides these four known states of Yoga, there is the 5th state of Yoga - Prema Yoga, the Yoga of Divine Love, where one loves the beloved as a manifestation of the Divine. If we want to live a spiritual life, we must go in quest of the truth; we must take the help of a Guru, a spiritual master who another enlightened being has trained.

A spiritual life is extremely important because this is what leads us to our ultimate goal - Moksha, Liberation, Nirvana. It enlightens us with the truth and does away with the myths and lies we live with. It holds the key to a life of Eternal Bliss, Divine Love and Everlasting Joy. It liberates us from all suffering and misery on earth and the Karmic cycle of death and rebirth.