"Spiritual life doesn't make you a good person;
you ARE a good person, you are a holy being
when you are born. What spiritual life does is
remind us that this is who we really are."
Jack Kornfield
“In divine creation the whole world is
united, the earth is united. It is oneness. In the whole human race there is
unity. The search for this unity, the unifying factor, is the real spiritual
journey. Unfortunately, the so-called spiritual journey has divided human beings
and torn apart the whole society.
The distinction between religion and
spirituality should first become clear in our minds. I normally give this
example of a banana and banana skin: religion is like the banana skin and
spirituality is the banana. People have thrown away the banana and are holding
on to the skin. Religion is outer rituals and habits, a way of life;
spirituality is the quest for the source of life, going back to the source,
knowing deep within us we are part of the divinity.
When this distinction becomes clear in the
mind, it is then our journey towards the source begins. It is then we become
human beings. It is then we become united to that principle which is beneath all
existence, which is beneath every happening and has enormous intelligence and
orderliness.”---Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
"I believe there is an
important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality.
Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation
of one faith tradition or another-an aspect of which is acceptance of
some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps
an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings
or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on.
Spirituality I take to be concerned
with those qualities of the human spirit-such as love and compassion,
patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of
responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self
and others."---His Holiness the Dalai Lama
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