I am writing this blog post while sitting in Rishikesh, India, a profoundly spiritual place nestled along the Ganges River. I have come here while on a personal & professional journey to find balance and meaning in my life, and to explore the concept of spiritual health more deeply.
I am fortunate to be staying at the tranquil Pushkar Mandir, established by the Khandelwal family, which has given me the space for self-reflection. I have also had the privilege of coming across an awakened soul. Her powerful energy and perspectives on consciousness, chakra balance, and more have stirred something within me. I feel my spiritual vessel filling continuously.
This experience has reaffirmed my growing belief that while we often focus intensely on improving our financial and physical health, we frequently neglect our spiritual dimension. Yet nurturing our spirituality is key to finding true peace, contentment, and purpose.
I have begun realizing that balance across three planes – Spiritual, Physical, and Financial (our “SPF”) – is essential for a fulfilling life. However, many of us, especially in ambitious materialistic cultures, are suffering from a kind of spiritual poverty or bankruptcy. We have plenty of money, possessions, and assets, but we lack meaning, ethical foundations, consciousness, and purpose.
This spiritual malnourishment erodes us from the inside out, leading to dissatisfaction, loneliness, and questioning if this is all there is. It can also lead us to moral and ethical failures since we lack the principles and values to guide appropriate conduct.
In this article, I will further explore the idea of spiritual health, the epidemic of spiritual poverty afflicting society, and ways we can nourish our spiritual dimension to achieve harmony across body, mind, and soul. My own awakening experience in Rishikesh has convinced me this balance of our SPF is the key to genuine fulfillment in work, relationships, and beyond.
Understanding SPF
As mentioned above, there are three pillars of creating a balanced healthy life - SPF Health.
Physical Health:
Physical well-being encompasses exercise, nutrition, and overall fitness. Maintaining a healthy body contributes not only to longevity but also to a higher quality of life. Regular physical activity, a balanced diet, and sufficient rest are vital components of physical health.
It is not just about burning calories but feeding the body that helps you heal physically as well as spiritually.
Spiritual Health:
The spiritual aspect of life is often less tangible but extremely important. Spiritual health involves finding meaning, purpose, and connection beyond the material and physical realms. It's about nurturing the soul, practicing gratitude, connecting with the inner spiritual journey, and aligning with one's values.
Just as we adopt exercise regimens to burn calories and achieve physical fitness, we must also expend effort to purify the soul and attain spiritual health. This involves activities that burn through negative karma - volunteer service that reduces selfishness through helping others (sewa), meditation that calms the mind's anxieties, practicing integrity and moral action to clear our karmic record. Making time for these spiritual exertions, no matter how occupied we are, serves much like sweat-inducing workouts do for the body - they keep our inner light clear and ever-ascending. A commitment to daily moral and thoughtful conduct, selfless community contribution, and meditative discipline foster harmony between body and soul, sharpening our vision to see, understand, and ascend toward life's deeper meaning.
Just as physical fitness demands nutritious foods to enable healing and energy, spiritual wellness relies on a compassionate, animal-free lifestyle to nourish the spirit. By adopting a plant-based diet free of meat or animal products, we partake in Dharma - living kindly and reducing suffering, which heals damaged karma through its non-violence and mindfulness.
Financial Health:
Financial stability is crucial for a comfortable and secure life. It involves managing resources wisely, saving for the future, and making informed financial decisions. While financial health is a cornerstone of well-being, it's only one piece of the puzzle.
For me, it's not defined by status symbols but by having enough reserves to support my family while retaining the autonomy to drive meaningful change. I need minimal belongings to thrive, just substantial cash flows to live freely and fund solutions for people, animals, and our planet. True financial well-being is unique for everyone - by defining your version, budgeting consciously, and using resources to unlock agency instead of consumption, you can build security that grants the freedom to live purposefully. The principles are universal: mindful savings, prudent investing, and intentional spending. Embrace these to achieve flexibility and purpose.
The Neglected Aspect: Spiritual Poverty:
While we successfully manage our financial and physical health, there's a pervasive issue that often goes unnoticed – spiritual poverty. This condition is characterized by a lack of inner fulfillment, a sense of purposelessness, moral bankruptcy, and a disconnect from the inner spiritual journey.
Signs of Spiritual Poverty:
Lack of Purpose:
Individuals experiencing spiritual poverty often grapple with a sense of purposelessness. They may find themselves questioning the meaning of their actions and the direction of their lives.
Materialistic Pursuits:
Excessive focus on material possessions and external achievements can be indicative of spiritual poverty. While financial success is commendable, true fulfillment extends beyond the accumulation of wealth and status.
Disconnect from Values:
When individuals lose touch with their core values and principles, they may experience a profound disconnect. This misalignment often leads to internal conflict and a sense of moral emptiness.
Disconnect from the Inner Spiritual Journey:
Spiritual poverty is often marked by a disconnection from the inner spiritual journey. It involves neglecting the exploration of consciousness, seeking higher meaning, and understanding one's place in the universe. This disconnect can hinder the pursuit of Moksha or spiritual liberation.
Addressing Spiritual Poverty:
I grew up in a family that did not adhere strictly to a single religion. This allowed me the space to explore and question, reading extensively on various faiths and spiritual paths during my formative years. I felt convinced of the existence of God or a higher cosmic consciousness.
However, after my father's untimely death, I grappled with more challenging questions about divine purpose and the nature of existence. During this period of spiritual seeking, I still found wisdom and truth in religious teachings but could not fully align myself with a specific doctrine.
When I later moved to Indonesia, I gained a renewed appreciation for the value of community, ritual, and shared stories about humankind's relationship with the divine. Although I hesitate to define myself as belonging to a particular religion, incorporating spiritual practices into my life has been enriching. Whether it is silent meditation, prayer, discussions with people from diverse faiths, or solo reflection, I have found these rituals nurture my spirit.
My path has revealed that spiritual health is not necessarily dependent on dogmatic belief. While organized religions work well for many, embracing spiritual practices consciously can also foster ethics, purpose, calm, and connection. By cultivating these universal human experiences, I feel spiritually nourished while still questioning, seeking, and incorporating wisdom from varied sources. My goal is to tend continually to my inner light rather than concluding the quest prematurely.
A few things that make spirituality/spiritual consciousness quite an attractive proposition:
Purpose: It gives a sense of purpose and meaning to life. Otherwise, as an agnostic person, I am always lost in trying to make meaning of life, and I have no answer, to be honest.
Hope: It reduces anxiety and depression. It gives hope to live.
Disciplined Life: It gives order, and reduces chaos.
Do Good: Morality and ethics are embedded in all religions. Though, I can't entirely agree with a lot of them, especially around gender and animal rights.
Tribe / Community: as described by a good friend - “the feeling to belong in a certain community.” It allows you to build meaningful connections with like-minded individuals who can provide support on the spiritual journey. Engage in conversations that explore deeper aspects of life, the inner spiritual journey, and purpose.
Cultivate Gratitude: It helps you practice gratitude which can shift your focus from what is lacking to what is abundant in life.
In closing, living a truly fulfilling life requires balancing the three pillars of Spiritual, Physical, and Financial health. While career ambition and physical fitness are emphasized in society, nurturing spiritual health is equally vital yet often neglected. Addressing "spiritual poverty" involves self-reflection, cultivating gratitude, connecting with others, embracing mindfulness and progressing on our inner journeys. Making time for these soul-nourishing habits allows us to thrive holistically across body, mind and spirit. By striving for balance across these three aspects, we can unlock profound reservoirs of energy and contentment, affirming that we are whole beings made of more than material aspirations alone. Our shared human yearning for purpose calls us to tend carefully to both outer gains and inner growth.
If any part of your spiritual foundation feels depleted or thrown out of balance with the tangible dimensions of life, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at sagar@idexaccelerator.com. I would be glad to suggest resources, readings or contacts to help restore harmony to your personal ecosystem across financial, physical and spiritual health.