SPIRITUALITY WITH NO AFFILIATION TO RELIGION

ABSTRACT : A common tendency with most people is to feel secure by declaring their affiliation to apartcular Caste, Language and above all Religion. This may be giving rise to a sort of superiority complex overothers so that it becomes habitual for the herd to diligently follow the dictates of the so called Connoisseur.There is absolutely nothing wrong in adopting the principles of any religion, provided one has honestly gonethrough the original texts, not just interpretations and understood all possible shades. Everything ages and that isa natural phenomenon. The age old rules, regulations and principles too, lose their efficacy in course of time.This is a fact to be accepted without dispute. It is surprising that out of reverence, religious claims are nevertaken for a thorough revision in the interest of humanity. All of them are granted eternity and the followers areforced to accept them as pronounced centuries back. This eventually has brought in rigidity in thinking andfurthermore smothered the progress altogether. No religion has stood exception to this. In fact the fault does notlie with the textual matter of any religion as such. It is the mishandling and misinterpretations vociferouslycarried by the preachers and religiously practised by the devout followers. In the race to claim superiority overothers, the enthusiastic mediocres have earned hatredness towards other groups. More than having a clarity ofown religious scriptures they have been energetically involved in pinpointing and later harshly criticizing othersfaith, practices, belief system, traditions etc. The ultimate aim of any religion tends towards spirituality thatinvolves regard for others practices and basic assumptions or outlooks. It is sad to see immature fellowsequating old traditions, which have remained absolutely unchecked, to spirituality and claiming ownpresumptions as the ultimate. The present day need is to aim at spirituality having no affiliation to any religionas such. Religion can always be a guide or a pathway to the spiritual zone and therefore one who aims highshould not get bracketted into a clumsy arena that provides no liberal attitude. This paper aims to check thegenuine details related to spirituality than getting sentimentally carried away by the popular but false claims.

KEYWORDS : Religiosity, Spirituality, Practices, Misconceptions etc.