nn 1,2

1.4.8 spirituality in practice

There are certain types of experiences which an individual may have without becoming aware that they are experiencing a spiritual phenomenon. You know, many human beings are born in this world, live in the world and pass away and of all of those human beings, very few find opportunity to actually experience the Infinite Consciousness which lies within them. That is why I say it is the bounden duty of everyone to endeavor to bring all to the path of blessedness, to endeavor to give each and every human being an opportunity to know the Divinity which lies within them. It is the duty, the bounden duty of every spiritualist to make effort to give this to others.

Now, many things can be kept for ones' self. If you have a new shirt, you might keep it for yourself. If you have a certain skill, you might keep it as your skill and use it to support your family. But things of the spirit cannot be kept like possessions. Love is not something to be put on a shelf never to be read, never to be shared with others. Love is something not to be kept on a shelf. If you put it on a shelf, it will become dead. It will simply become something dead and unusable. So, you must put things of the spirit into action with others, you must give love to others. You must give the light of the spirit to others, then it has meaning. If you put it on a shelf like a book, store it for your future use, you will find it grows old and decayed and will rot away altogether. So, spirituality cannot be put on the shelf. It cannot be left for another time. It is for now, it is for others and it is for you as well. What you have you must give to others. It is a natural law of Prakrti and it is also a law of Prakrti, if you keep it for yourself, if you intend to hoard for yourself all the wealth all the riches of your spirit, you will lose them. It is the law of Prakrti. So, I would say, if you want to be able to keep the gifts of spirit that are given to you, you must do your best to share them with others so that all might know the path of blessedness, so that the love of the heart may be shared with others and you find your union with all beings through the sharing of love.

To love others is a part and parcel of the spiritual path. You cannot walk the path of the spirit and be a dry and heartless person who loves no one, who cares for no one, who simply minds his own business, who live his own life small in solitary and gives nothing of what he has to anyone. Such a person cannot realize the treasures of the heart. They cannot awaken the spirit within them. To awaken the spirit within them they must learn to care for others, to love others, to share the wealth of their knowledge of the spirit, of their heart with others, so that those people also might enjoy the path of blessedness. It is not a solitary path. It is a path of love for all life, for all creation and for that beatitude which lies quiescent within the created universe.

You see, spirituality involves the upliftment of the spirit. A spiritual life is one in which the spirit is enhanced and expressed. So, you be a spiritualist and you lead a spiritual life. You don't be afraid of anyone, you don't let anything stand in your way. Spirituality cannot be defined in black and white terms. Spirituality comes from the spirit.

Now, the spirit of a human being, what is the spirit of a human being, the spirit of a person which one will uplift? That spirit is the essential essence of an individual. That essence, which will go from life to life, from body to body, that is the spirit of a person. Now, they say the spirit may be defeated. You see all of the language which talks of the spirit. "The spirit may be with you today", or "He has lost his spirit". Isn't it? What do they say? "He is with you, he has lost his spirit, his heart is in sorrow". All of these terms, they are related.

Now, spirituality is the pursuit of spirit and spirit is the essence of a being. And that essence is immortal. So, spirituality is the pursuit of the essential being within.

I think this will be sufficient for this evening. I will speak on this topic again. What may be said then and what is said now may be put together.