How can we talk of religion without it’s effects being seen in our lives? I address this to all of us who want just one religion for our country, because without spirituality there is no religion.

But even as I say these words, I can hear many asking, “What is true spirituality?” and “How will people know whether I am spiritual or not?”

I believe that real spirituality doesn’t stay hidden within oneself but can be seen and felt by all those around you. Here’s the thing; when God dwells in you your behaviour changes, and you start developing the characteristics  of the divine.

Now the Divine has many characteristics so I’m going to mention just two of them that others should start seeing in you.

The first is empathy.

Empathy is the ability and willingness to fully understand another person’s experience and connect it to your own—for example, rather than seeing an irritable coworker as a nuisance, you may recognize that they are reacting to stress in the workplace. Compassion is the practice of responding to this realization with kindness—because you understand why the coworker is in a bad mood, you respond with extra patience and listen deeply when they complain, rather than snapping back.

Start listening deeply and prioritising what the other person has to say above what you yourself would like to say.

Taking others’ perspectives into account. In addition to simply listening to others, open yourself up to imagining what it would be like to be in their shoes. How would you feel if you were in their situation?

Look for the good. Positivity researcher Barbara Fredrickson recommends boosting compassion by actively considering others’ positive qualities. Encouraging yourself to acknowledge the whole picture of another person will help you see them as a complex, dynamic human who is worthy of kindness and compassion.

Which means you stop thinking of people around you as ‘others’. If you do, then there’s no spiritualism in you.

The next characteristic is forgiveness. You will stop harping on mistakes that were committed and instead start understanding why they were committed. An example I very often talk about is that of the Man on the cross, beaten, speared, humiliated, and dying, and instead of calling to His father in heaven to take revenge, He cries out, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!”

That means we do not have ‘memorial days’ to remember past hurts, but learn to forgive and move on.

Yes, if spirituality was imbibed in our country, we would all be able to live in peace and reject this culture of what comprises religion that is being bandied.

We have a choice to fight on the basis of religious culture or become deeply spiritual, and make India great..!

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