1

Resolving Issues Related To Life Style, Health And Family Systems By

Acceleration Through Spirituality.
Ms. Pallavi Manohar D.M - Research Scholar, Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation, CREST,
Mysuru (mpallavim@gmail.com) Phone: 9741369369 and

Dr. Shivani – Associate Professor and Guide, Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation, CREST,
Mysuru (shivarasu2@gmail.com) Phone: 9444439554

ABSTRACT

This is a conceptual article based on fundamental research tools to understand whether

Spirituality can help resolve Life Style, Health and Family issues to accelerate sustainable
development on Earth. Result: This creates a lens (of a 5-stepped process) for analysing the
impact of all experiential spiritual training designs. Findings: 1) Each of the Spiritual
systems seem to have an independent background philosophy and a unique set of techniques
to actualise their philosophy. 2) Speciality of each Spiritual System is in the way their
trainings are based on accessing immanent or transcendent Presence to source life, manage
goals and resolve problems. 3) Spiritual systems seem to be working independently and yet,
accelerating bio-psychological and socio-spiritual transformations through systematic
training techniques. 4) Although each system differs from the other in philosophical
approach, training methodology and governance style, each is built with a focus for human
transformation with a committed mechanism to drive the same. 5) Latest trend shows that
some of these systems are linking their spiritual techniques to health benefits while some
others have carved a clear cut agenda of sustainable development and planet level action by
transformation through individuals’ development. Yet, some systems are wholly intent on
actualising Presence, knowing this alone as the solution to all of life’s issues. This paper
analyses these trends to understand applied philosophies of these diverse systems, to pave
way for global collaborations to herald Spiritual-health, Human-unification and Planet-
wellbeing. Keywords: Spirituality, Health, Wellbeing, Goal Management, Training,
Transformation, Sustainable Development.

INTRODUCTION

In this paper, one central idea has been developed as a handy tool to be used for future
analysis of Spiritual systems. It involves one theoretical concept comprising of 3 sub
concepts. Central idea is that every Spiritual system that is based on ancient wisdom has
evolved to train human consciousness systematically and thus has an innate training design in
 2

it. Thus each spiritual system ipso facto is an engine for building human capabilities and the
founder of each system (usually of a quality of a seer) has given a methodology to connect a
human to innate capabilities through a process that is established through the system. To
understand the system, this paper devises a way to see it from point of view of 3 angles of
perception. These angles of perception are the sub concepts and they are 1) Capacity, 2)
Faculty and 3) Ability.

An attempt is made to build a concept that a human is a spirit–mind-body mechanism running

on an engine of capabilities built from - capacity, faculty and ability. It is viewed that this
human-engine can further be activated by a system-engine of a focussed Spiritual
organization. In this article, ‘capacity’ is viewed as one’s skilfulness at spirit level in being
broad-minded at ideation and visualization levels. By ‘faculty’, it is the neuro-brainal
connectivity at mental level that yields efficiency that is being addressed. Likewise, ‘ability’
is being viewed as the body level skill to cause coordinated activity within the body-mind
complex to adapt to the requirements of the environment.

Hence, it is theorised that every seer had in mind - transformation of human health and
wellbeing at the core of all endeavours - for which, ways and means have been built and each
of the seer’s Spiritual systems can truly be appreciated only when we understand what it does
to the landscape of a human’s mind by inputting an ideation process in place. This kick starts
the mind’s capacity towards broadening of a vision. This is stage 1. At stage 2, the human is
exposed to one or more activities that connects the self to meanings in the head and draws out
the being into the world of strivings. This angle of one idea from the seer inspiring
emergence of visions in the recipient resulting in self expansion and from this condition,
inspiring the being to move the body towards accomplishment of certain meaning filled
activities paves the way for creation of new neuro peptides and neural pathways in the
physical body. This is what we refer to as Faculty. Thus a faculty necessarily involves
activating neural plasticity, which is a term of modern neuro science. However, systems of
ancient wisdom have built a methodical training science without calling it as “neural
plasticity”. It is a traditional craft that creates a bio-psycho-socio-ecological field through the
act of building an intention field called as “Sankalpa” in Indian spirituality. This field is the
one that is at work in all spiritual systems at stage 3 to manifest “ability” in a human’s
psycho-physical frame to trigger manifestation of intended outcomes through live situations.

Thus, making a Sankalpa is a Spiritual skill that has the potential to establish 3 things:
 3

1) A body-based communication line within the internal neuro-brainal universe of human

body system readying the system for connecting to external universe for manifestation;

2) A mind-based connecting system by taking micro things that one can easily lay one’s
hands on, to put sacred energy into and charge it by means of first attaching meaningful
representations on to it and then by directing into it laser-like focussed attention and

3) A spirit-based interconnectivity through specific meaning-making that connects internal

and external universes of human by the process of representing the macro in the micro
realities and then investing oneself into these representations by concentrating one’s energy
and vesting in it a symbolism of higher powers to operate for higher result oriented purposes.

All these are done by linking some aspect of self at body, mind or spirit level to meaningful
end results by purposeful actions or interconnections.

This paper is a maiden attempt through basic research to investigate the various ways and
means that are being utilised by different Spiritual systems, which are acting as engines to
deploy the above described intention-based creation mechanism to affect and shape Life
style, Health and Family situations in the lives of individuals.

OBJECTIVE, METHODOLOGY AND RELEVANCE

This is a conceptual article based on fundamental research methodology to understand

whether Spirituality can help resolve Life Style, Health and Family issues to accelerate
sustainable development on Earth.

There are studies done which have focussed separately or jointly on life style, health and
family problems (Juby & Rycraft, 2004). Many studies have also been reported on effects of
spirituality on each of these areas (Cornah, 2006). Also, studies exist that have combined
these elements to resolve traumatic situations (Bryant-Davis & Wong, 2013). There have also
been spiritual researches that have established findings on how ideation is being enabled in
every spiritual system utilizing the concept of God, which yield certain results in the human
frame (Ramchandra, 2014). However, there is insufficient research in scientific realm to
know if we can target and achieve sustainable development through Spirituality
systematically within a specific time span. This aspect of research is critical because India is
the hub and source of Spirituality since times immemorial and yet, there is dearth of common
focus and unity among spiritual organizations to act together for manifestation causes, which
 4

is called for in current times when UNO has started the race to save humanity from self-
extinction by accomplishing sustainable development goals for earth by 2030 through
combined forces. This paper analyses training designs within some samples of spiritual
movements to understand applied philosophies of diverse systems, so as to pave way for
global collaborations for heralding Spiritual-health, Human-unification and Planet-wellbeing.

UNDERSTANDING THE DISTINCTION: SPIRITUAL TRAINING

Where the environment has a certain demand on a person but this individual is unable to meet
requirement, firstly, it may mean that this person is lacking in broadening the vision or
secondly, it may mean that having broadened the vision, the person has not yet built the right
neural pathways within that delivers to the demand or thirdly, having built the right neural
pathways within, is yet, unable to coordinate and make adjustments within the environment.
If a broadened vision, right neural connectivity and able body-mind coordination skills are
present and yet, the person is not meeting the adaptation requirements of the environment, it
can only mean that the person has an ability issue or a willingness issue to be resolved.
Ability issue has to be understood as those situational reasons where the law of nature is in
operation and it is that, which is delimiting the person. For example, natural wear and tear in
the body; death or disease in a ‘near and dear’ one; national policy changes; international
wars; earthquake; land-slides and system break downs etcetera are factors that may lead to
ability issues. However, willingness issue may arise due to differences in an individual’s
perception of values, ethics, morality etcetera issues or where the environment becomes
corrosive that it hampers the individual’s sustenance.

Where an individual fails to adjust to environment due to inability or unwillingness, at the

initial stages, it can be called as a challenge. It needs a solution at a life style level. If the
challenge is not addressed through a life style change, it becomes a problem of - physical,
mental, social or spiritual health issues. If the problem is not resolved, it becomes a disease
that soon affects at larger-unit levels like that of a family and community system. It is
because of this that spiritual systems focus on priming capacities in a human by developing a
broader vision of - life and self - through the conceptualization of God. This article discusses
effects thereof by analysing some of the techniques employed in spiritual systems.

Before analysing the differences between systems, one must know the commonality between
them. Two characteristics within all spiritual systems is that 1) they relate to a human as a
soul-entity (Atman) although the perception of what is a soul differs from system to system
 5

and 2) they relate to creation of an intention field (Sankalpa) through which, a soul is
connected with consciously. Spiritual trainings can be distinguished from Scientific ones by
the way an intentional field is activated through which, a soul’s self expression is unleashed.

An intention itself becomes the field as well and it is traditionally called as Sankalpa in
Indian Spirituality. Sankalpa-making is followed by any one of 4 types of activities in
Spiritual training systems. The activities may be classified as:

1) Self-activation through worship patterns (Pooja Vidhana) using materials by attaching

sacred meanings and connecting ideas of the mind to symbolic representations in physical
body or environment through devotional effort (Aradhana);

2) Self-activation through sound patterns by devotional singing (Bhajans) or chant of Divine

meanings (Mantra);

3) Self-activation through skill patterns involving aesthetics, performing or martial arts.

Examples are floor art (Rangoli), dancing (Nruthya) and weapon practice (Shasthra
Abhyasa) and

4) Self-activation through meditation patterns (Dhyana).

Now that the field of intention and its activation process is understood, one needs to know the
perceptions of different systems on Soul because it is this Soul’s power that is used to anchor
the trainings in Spiritual organizations and it is this Soul’s power that becomes the engine for
learning and development. While the Scientific trainings focus on material goals and targets,
Spiritual trainings are distinctly focussed on Soul itself, its qualities or powers as the target
for all achievements. There is very little difference of opinion among different systems that
this soul-entity in human frame has 2 aspects - of awareness and capabilities. Awareness is
used interchangeably with consciousness by many authors. However, it is to be noted that in
etymology, there is nothing like synonyms.
 6

SPIRITUAL TRAINING DESIGNS: AN ANALYSIS

 7

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

1) Each of the Spiritual systems seem to have an independent background philosophy and a
unique set of techniques to actualise their philosophy.

2) Speciality of each Spiritual System is in the way their trainings are based on accessing
immanent or transcendent Presence to source life, manage goals and resolve problems.
 8

3) Spiritual systems seem to be working independently and yet, accelerating bio-

psychological and socio-spiritual transformations through systematic training techniques.

4) Although each system differs from the other in philosophical approach, training
methodology and governance style, each is built with a focus for human transformation with
a committed mechanism to drive the same.

5) Latest trend shows that some of these systems are linking their spiritual techniques to
health benefits while some others have carved a clear cut agenda of sustainable development
and planet level action by transformation through individuals’ development. Yet, some
systems are wholly intent on actualising Presence, knowing this alone as the solution to all of
life’s issues.

CONCLUSION

This creates a lens (of a 5-stepped process) for analysing the impact of all experiential
spiritual training designs.