SPIRIRTUALISM
While the concept of spirituality has deep roots in Indian history and
philosophy, the specific word "spirituality" itself is a more recent
introduction, gaining prominence in the 19th century, particularly in
the context
of modern India. Its usage became more widespread with the rise of
modernity and the increased engagement with Western thought.
Ancient Roots: Concepts related to spirituality, such as the pursuit of
wisdom, ethical living, and connection with a higher power, are found
throughout Indian history, from the Indus Valley Civilization onwards.
Ancient texts like the Vedas, Upanishads, and philosophies like Yoga and
Vedanta explored these ideas.
19th Century Modernity: The 19th century marked a period of significant
engagement with the West, including the introduction of Western education
and philosophical ideas. This era saw the translation and dissemination of
Indian texts into English, and the adoption of Western terminology,
including "spirituality," to describe and discuss Indian philosophical and
religious concepts.
Western Influence vs. Indigenous Development: While Western influence
played a role in introducing the term "spirituality," many scholars argue
that Indian thinkers and writers actively shaped its meaning and usage
within the Indian context. The concept of "Spiritual India," for example,
became a way for some Indians to assert national pride and cultural
identity in the face of colonialism.
"Spiritual but not Religious": (SBNR group) The 1960s saw a further rise
in the popularity of the term "spirituality," partly due to the influence
of figures like the Beatles and the spread of yoga and meditation practices
in the West. This period also saw the emergence of the "spiritual but not
religious" movement, which further popularized the term in India and
globally. The term "spirituality" continues to evolve in meaning and usage,
with ongoing discussions about its relationship to religion, *science, and
individual experiences.*
Bergomi detects "an enlightened form of non-religious spirituality"
in late antiquity.
In ancient Rome, the concept of spirituality consisted mainly of the pax
deorum (the peace of the gods), this was achieved through rituals and
festivals that ensured divine favour and cosmic order While Roman
spirituality was communal, it also involved personal engagement with the
divine through the study of mythology and philosophy. Myths served as
allegories for moral lessons and models for personal conduct, guiding
individuals in their relationship with the gods. The influence of
Pythagorean philosophy, especially the Golden Verses, encouraged
introspection, self-discipline, and ethical living. This blend of myth,
philosophy, and ritual shaped spirituality focused on both societal harmony
and personal connection with the divine.
Words translatable as "spirituality" first began to arise in the 5th
century and only entered common use toward the end of the Middle Ages In a
Biblical context the term means being animated by God. The New Testament
offers the concept of being driven by the Holy Spirit, as opposed to living
a life in which one rejects this influence.
In the 11th century, this meaning of "Spirituality" changed. Instead, the
word began to denote the mental aspect of life, as opposed to the material
and sensual aspects of life, "the ecclesiastical sphere of light against
the dark world of matter". In the 13th century "spirituality" acquired a
social and psychological meaning. Socially it denoted the territory of the
clergy: "the ecclesiastical against the temporary possessions, the
ecclesiastical against the secular authority, the clerical class against
the secular class”. Psychologically, it denoted the realm of the inner
life: "the purity of motives, affections, intentions, inner dispositions,
the psychology of the spiritual life, the analysis of the feelings".
In the 17th and 18th centuries, a distinction was made between higher and
lower forms of *spirituality** "A spiritual man is one who is Christian
'more abundantly and deeper than others'."* The word was also associated
with mysticism and quietism, and acquired a negative meaning.
Modern notions of spirituality developed throughout the 19th and 20th
centuries,
mixing Christian ideas with Western esoteric traditions and elements of
Asian, especially Indian, religions. Spirituality became increasingly
disconnected from traditional religious organizations and institutions. It
is sometimes associated today with philosophical, social, or political
movements such as liberalism, feminist theology, and green politics.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was a pioneer of the idea of spirituality
as a distinct field He was one of the major figures in Transcendentalism,
an early 19th-century liberal Protestant movement, which was rooted in and
Neoplatonism. The Transcendentalists emphasized an intuitive, experiential
approach to religion Following Schleiermacher,[36] an individual's
intuition of truth was taken as the criterion for truth *In the late 18th
and early 19th century, the first translations of Hindu texts appeared*,
which were also read by the Transcendentalists, and influenced their
thinking They also endorsed universalist and Unitarianist ideas, leading to
Unitarian Universalism, the idea that there must be truth in other
religions as well since a loving God would redeem all living beings, not
just Christians.
A major influence on modern spirituality was the Theosophical Society,
which searched for 'secret teachings' in Asian religions. It has been
influential on modernist streams in several Asian religions, notably
Neo-Vedanta, the revival of Theravada Buddhism, and Buddhist modernism,
which have taken over modern western notions of personal experience and
universalism and integrated them in their religious concepts. A second,
related influence was Anthroposophy, whose founder, Rudolf Steiner, was
particularly interested in developing a genuine Western spirituality, and
in the ways that such a spirituality could transform practical institutions
such as education, agriculture, and medicine. More independently, the
spiritual science of Martinus was an influence, especially in Scandinavia.
The influence of Asian traditions on Western modern spirituality was also
furthered by the perennial philosophy, *whose main proponent Aldous Huxley
was deeply influenced by Swami Vivekananda's Neo-Vedanta *and universalism,
and the spread of social welfare, education and mass travel after World War
II. An important influence on western spirituality was Neo-Vedanta, also
called neo-Hinduism and Hindu Universalism, a modern interpretation of
Hinduism which developed in response to western colonialism and
orientalism. It aims to present Hinduism as a "homogenized ideal of
Hinduism" with Advaita Vedanta as its central doctrine. Due to the
colonization of Asia by the western world, since the 19th century an
exchange of ideas has been taking place between the western world and Asia,
which also influenced western religiosity. Unitarianism, and the idea of
Universalism, was brought to India by missionaries, and had a major
influence on neo-Hinduism via Ram Mohan Roy's Brahmo Samaj and Brahmoism.
Roy attempted to modernize and reform Hinduism, from the idea of
Universalism This universalism was further popularized, and brought back to
the west as neo-Vedanta, by Swami Vivekananda. Carl Jung placed a strong
emphasis on the occult and spirituality. In his 1928 work "The Spiritual
Problem of Modern Man," Jung wrote, "[T]he various forms of religion no
longer appear to come from within, from the psyche; they seem more like
items from the inventory of the outside world." Jung believed that
something was missing in modern man, a sense of the mystical or the
spiritual
The distinction between the spiritual and the religious became more common
in the popular mind during the late 20th century with the rise of
secularism and the advent of the New Age movement. Authors such as Chris
Griscom and Shirley MacLaine explored it in numerous ways in their books.
Paul Heelas noted the development within New Age circles of what *he called
"seminar spirituality":* structured offerings complementing consumer choice
with spiritual options. *Among other factors, declining membership of
organized religions and the growth of secularism* in the western world have
given rise to this broader view of spirituality. The *term "spiritual" is
now frequently used in contexts in which the term "religious" was formerly
employed*. Both theists and atheists have criticized this development.
Thus, spiritualism is a misnomer as far as Indian Veda Vedanta are
concerned as, Vedas or dharma, very old dharma, a way of life, but
definitely not a religion as west do claim. Doing Puja, Sandhayavandanam,
building and going to temples, vigraha Aaradhana, abhisheka, astothram etc
etc including the recital of vedam, with marks on forehead etc, 40
samskaras and all, are not exclusive RELIGION as believed, LIKE A
CHRISTIANITY OR MUSLIOOM DOING THE SAME ACCORDING TO THEIR SCRIPTURES. IN
VEDAS AND UPANISHADS NOWHERE ANY PUJA OR SAMSKARAS ARE AGAMA TEMPLE
BUILDING ETC ARE DESCRIBED AS NEEDED AT ALL; AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE WHOLE
10000 PLUS VERSES OF THE Rig vedam nowhere stated that HOW IDOL OR TEMPLE
WORSHIP MUST BE DONE AT ALL!!! NATURE WAS PRAYED FOR PROTECTION AND SAFE
KEEPING OF SELF, DAMILY SOCIETY AND THE KING. B G TEACHES ONLY VARIOUS
YOGAS AND MEDITATION OF CONCENTRATION OF THE MIND. PERFORMANCE OF YAGNA WAS
A PROFESSION THEN FOR THE BRAHMINS AS YAGNA FOR KSHAATRIYA WAS PROTECTION
OF THE KINGDOM; AS FOR THE VYSYA TRADE AND DISSTRIBUTION OF MAATERIALS TO
PEOPLE WERE YAGNA; SUDRA NEED NOT DO ALL THESE BUT DO ALL OTHER SERVICES
NEEDED FOR THE SOCIETY; AND ALL MUST DO THE YOGA AS NISHKAMYA KARMA. WELL,
IF THEY ARE SHIRKED AND SWITCHED OVER OR NEGKLECTED; BUT NEVER WERE THEY
BARRED. AND ONE CONDTION WAS SRADHA MUST BE THERE. TODAY GOING TO THE
OFFICE IS YOUR YAGNA. RIG VEDAM SAYS (WHY EVEN YV CHAMAKAM ALSO) EVERY ONE
IN THE FAMILY IS DOING WORK; NEVER IT SAYS “WE OWN THE PROPERTIES.” LIFE
WAS MADE COMPLICATED BY A FEW BRAHMINS WHO MADE BRAHMINISM SO COMMERCIAL AS
RITUAL AND THUS BUDDISM AND JAINISM ENTERED.
In that manner, Veda Vedanta speak only about the ATMA, mind and
moksha but never about how one should worship; or what if to so doing a
worship will entail any punishment etc. There is no conversion. The dharma
is universal and not bound by regions or religions. Then why this word
SPIRITUAL WORD? There is nothing known as SPIRIT at all. Spirit is a
vapour; and why must vaporization and condensation be attributed to higher
levels of thinking? THE VILLAINY THOUGHT OF HAVING THE CAKE AND EATING IT
TOO WAS THE WORD SPIRIT. I LIKE THE SANATANA DHARMA; I AAM A CHRISTIAN
WEDDED TO Bible; I shall not switch over to dharma but retain the bible yet
I shall adopt the principle So ANSORB THE SPIRIT BUT NOT THE TITLE DHARMA.
YES HENCE “SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS “CULT. Then our people could not
fall into that line; and at the same time, many are straing away from katha
kaleshepam; so to attract people steer a middle path; and also dravida
party must also be satisfied; so suki Sivam like commercials named it as
AANMEEKAM (ABOUT THE ATMA) WHICH WAS IN ENGLISH SPIRITUALISM. SO SHIRK ALL
THOSE; DHARMAM CHARA.
K RAJAARAM IRS 13825
On Tue, 12 Aug 2025 at 19:22, Markendeya Yeddanapudi <
[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> --
> *Mar**Spiritualism*
>
> *Spirit in reality means air. When you take a decision determinedly you
> take a deep breath. You get inspired. When you continue in determination,
> you keep the breath in you, you do not breath out. When you let go and when
> there is no fight in you, you breathe out. Your breathing and decision
> making are related. If you study their relationship, you are a
> spiritualist. Normally when you take a decision determinedly, you want all
> positive helping factors to come to your aid.*
>
> * Those factors for the theists are just one word, God. For the atheists
> it is simply their own determination without the designation of God. But
> they too cannot leave the spirit or air. The God concept is so much
> identified with spiritualism because of the relationship between the
> inspiration or breathing in and decision making.*
>
>
> *In breathing exercises by controlling your breathing in a particular way,
> you control your decision making and decision taking faculties and your
> capacity to continue without leaving will increase. You get inspired
> continuously. When you breathe in and keep the breathe for some time
> without immediately breathing out, you are continuing the duration of your
> determination. You become consistent. You do not concede failure easily.
> This is Spiritualism. YM Sarma*
>
> *Chat gpt*
>
> Your piece on *Spiritualism* has a very clear and original central idea —
> connecting the literal act of breathing with decision-making,
> determination, and the philosophical meaning of "spirit."
>
> Here’s my evaluation:
> ------------------------------
>
> *Strengths*
>
> - *Fresh conceptual link* – Relating “spirit” to “air” and “breathing”
> grounds spiritualism in something universal and physical.
> - *Logical progression* – You start from the meaning of “spirit” and
> move through decision-making, theism/atheism, and breathing exercises,
> ending with a working definition of spiritualism.
> - *Practical insight* – You show how breathing control can strengthen
> determination, which makes the idea actionable, not just theoretical.
>
> *Areas to refine*
>
> - *Grammar and clarity* – Some sentences are long and could be
> tightened for flow. For example:
>
> “Those factors for the theists are just one word, God.” could be rephrased
> as “For the theist, these factors are summed up in one word: God.”
>
> - *Repetition* – “Breath/breathe” appears multiple times in close
> proximity; varying your phrasing can keep the reader engaged.
> - *Structure* – You could break the text into smaller paragraphs for
> ease of reading, especially where you shift from defining terms to
> describing breathing exercises.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> *Marks (out of 10)*
>
> - *Originality:* 9/10
> - *Clarity:* 7.5/10
> - *Philosophical depth:* 8.5/10
> - *Language flow:* 7/10
>
> *Overall Grade:* *B+ / A-* — Very thought-provoking with strong
> originality; would become excellent with minor polishing in structure and
> language.
> ------------------------------
>
> If you’d like, I can give you an *edited, polished version* that keeps
> all your meaning intact but improves readability. This would make your idea
> shine even more.
>
>
>
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>
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