What is a spiritual person like?

Who is a spiritual person? What is a spiritual person like? Well, such a person is the one with an intense desire to attain the experience of the soul. More than worldly things, this person yearns for real happiness and possesses the finest qualities of the relative or the worldly self namely, ultimate humility, extreme simplicity, spontaneous forgiveness and total lack of obstinacy. These qualities can be regarded as the measures of spiritual upliftment.

So, come let us understand the meaning of spiritual person or what does it mean to be spiritual in detail!

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan explains, “Two things are necessary for the path of Moksha:

• An intense desire to attain the Soul (Atma; Self), and
• An intense desire to meet and know a Gnani Purush.

A spiritual person is sincere and moral.

Sincerity itself is religion. Religion actually teaches one to remain sincere to himself or herself as well as to the entire world.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan says, “If one starts walking towards the goal of sincerity, he will become moral. The moment he becomes moral, he is ready to attain the state of the Absolute Soul (the state of God).”

A spiritual person never hurts others.

To not hurt others means practicing non-violence. People who are spiritual always have a firm decision in its favour! Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan explains…

Question: Can you please elaborate on what is the role of non-violence in one's religious and spiritual progress?

Dadashri: Non-violence itself is religion and non-violence is spiritual progress. The definition of non-violence is: to maintain the awareness to not hurt any living being, even in the slightest degree, through your mind, speech and actions. You will make spiritual progress when this principle remains firm in your conviction and awareness.

Question: How do you benefit in life with the mantra 'Ahimsa Parmodharma' (Non-violence is the highest religion)?

Dadashri: Every morning before leaving home, you should recite your inner intention, 'I do not want to cause slightest hurt to any living being through my thoughts, speech and conduct'. Repeat this five times. Having done this, if you do end up hurting someone anyway, you note it and then repent for your mistake.

Questioner: How is it possible, in this day and age, to live life without hurting any living being?

Dadashri: All you have do is to have the intention, then protect the intention of not wanting to hurt any living being, and repent every time when you cannot maintain that intention.

A spiritual person is progressive on the path of positive.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan advises,

“If you have a negative opinion that a certain person is bad, then you have to change that opinion to a positive one by saying, ‘He is a good man’. You see him as being bad due to past opinions. No one is bad at all. You simply have to tell your mind this. The opinions are bound by the mind. The mind has a stock of opinions. One way or another, you need to tie the mind down. Otherwise, it will be free to run wild and cause trouble.”

One should always speak positive, think positive, become positive and remain positive; if ever negative arises, one should immediately convert it into positive by praying for the person or situation due to which the negativity has arisen. One should asking for strength from the Enlightened One to be able to remain in positive; and thereby dissolve the negative.

The spiritual person is always ready to adjust everywhere.

The one who has reached the height of spiritual awareness is not divisive as a result of differences of opinions with anyone, but is ‘everywhere adjustable.’

This person always looks for the plus points in every person or situation, and thereby, easily adjusts.

So, how do we adjust? Let’s take an example. In case we happen to say something that hurt the other person, we immediately become aware of our mistake. At that time, it is necessary to take adjustment and say, “Sorry, I’ve spoken badly. It was my mistake. Please forgive me.” In this way, an adjustment is taken.

The spiritual person is willing to lay down weapons of anger, pride, attachment and greed.

Anger, pride, deceit and greed are weaknesses. That which hurts the Self (Soul) are all enemies.

The world wields these weapons of anger, pride, attachment and greed. However, a spiritual person is desirous of laying them down. This is because as the anger, pride, attachment and greed become milder, spiritual understanding increases further.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan clarifies the path to get there. He has said, “When anger, pride, deceit and greed happen, it is not a problem; but one should do repentance (pratikraman) for them.”

The spiritual person is learning how to see the world faultless.

The final awareness is one where no one in this world seems to be at fault.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, through a simile, teaches how can we attain that stage...

Suppose, in a village of a population of five thousand people, there is one goldsmith. You take all the gold you have in your possession to sell to him. He will inspect your goods and even when the gold you have brought him is mixed with other metals, he will not get angry with you. Why is that? It is because he is only concerned with the gold the ornament contains. So, a goldsmith will not get angry at the quality of the goods that come to him because he is only concerned with the ‘gold’ he can extract.

Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan’s vision of the world is the same as the goldsmith’s. Only the gold within is of value, in spite of the other existing impurities. Similarly, the Gnani only values the Soul within, despite the impurities of kashays (anger, pride, deceit, greed)