{"id":478,"date":"2026-01-28T14:23:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T14:23:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/psychologytoinfinite.com\/?p=478"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:15:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:15:56","slug":"what-is-spirituality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/psychologytoinfinite.com\/?p=478","title":{"rendered":"What is spirituality?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Adapted from the Gospel of Ramakrishna<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is a parable told by Sri Ramakrishna<\/strong>, a spiritual teacher, genius and saint. He did not have any formal education yet he was a treasure-house of oral traditions, out of which he created his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

The story goes like this\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A holy man was once meditating on the bank of a river, when another holy man wanted to impress him with the extraordinary powers he had achieved through his ascetic practices. So he came towards him, walking on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he reached the place where the first holy man was quietly sitting, the second holy man said, \u201cDid you see what I just did?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first holy man said, \u201cOh yes, I  saw you come across the river, walking on the water. Where did you learn that?”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second holy man answered, \u201cI practiced yoga and penances for twelve years in the foothills of the Himalayas, standing on one leg, fasting six days of a week. And so I acquired this power.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first holy man laughed and replied, \u201cReally? Why did you go through all that trouble for this? Our ferryman here will ferry you across any day for two pennies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

This story hints at the fact that the truly enlightened one neither seeks validation nor flaunts the power by engaging in magical displays.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Aurobindo talks about something similar when he says\u2026\u201cone is met by the now fashionable habit, among people presuming to be Vedantic and spiritual, of a denunciation and holy horror of the Yogic siddhis. They are, it seems, Tantric, dangerous, immoral, delusive as conjuring tricks, a stumbling block in the path of the soul’s liberation\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All spiritual quests essentially begin, persist and end with surrender. The desire for gaining occult power only bridles a person\u2019s inner progress. Humility and gratitude are ways in which one stays rooted and focused.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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