Follow your spirit

The current economic scenario has seen global financial powerhouses topple,left traditional management and financial wisdom looking weak and exposed the extent of human greed.Meanwhile,the violent results of fundamentalism have shown just how often religion is used as a tool of dominance by the intolerant and unenlightened.After centuries of abuse,the planet's fragile ecology is threatened.This may be the first time in man's history that an increasingly interdependent and confused world,faced with multiple threats on multiple fronts,is collectively seeking change.What's needed is a human revolution-of the spirit.

Destruction is a positive sign
When things crumble around us,it leaves us no choice but to rebuild.Rebuilding is easier when there is no need to clean up the legacy garbage.Perhaps the biggest idea thrown up in these troubled times is that organized religion may be out of time.Like organized begging or crime syndicates,organized religion needs to be put down.The only this can happen is if people begin to see 'organized religion' for what it is-the irreligious corruption of spirituality.
The spiritual leader is meant to liberate human beings from bestial forces that shackle it-greed,hatred,anger,ignorance and materialism.By enabling negativity gradually to disintegrate,a spiritual leader can unlock a man's true potential-awakening him to the enormous power of unconditional love and tolerance.

But when this informal,one-on-one interaction with guru begins to take the form of organized groups,individual belief systems,egos and aspirations quickly begin to corrupt.The words of the spiritual master begin to be filtered through veils of individual and collective ignorance till it becomes practically unrecognizable and potentially destructive.

Religion is used to establish the supremacy of a race,to urge the invasion and conquest to geographical territory and to plunder enormous wealth.Freedom dies when it is overlaid with organized religion.The growing popularity of new age spirituality has helped trash religious dogma and control somewhat.People belonging to all faiths-or none-throng yoga center,meditation camps and healing groups.They are not told what to think but invited to explore their inner wisdom by calming mind and body.This is true self-empowerment.Intolerance,dependence,anger and laziness start to give way-at a different pace for different individuals-to be replaced by an understanding that living beings are united by more than the fact they are alive.This exposes the futility of divisiveness and hatred.No force is involved.

The process of unlocking one's hidden spirituality is a personal and individual journey.The true master or guru lies within.It is wise not to take external influences too seriously as these may be at a completely different stage of evolution from you.We may also unknowingly outgrow people who were able to once contribute to our development.Not understanding this can be devastating.Many people continue to seek the advice of those who are morally,intellectually,emotionally and spiritually inferior and then wonder why their world is collapsing around them.

There are a few small examples of how even a good thing can go terribly wrong.A guru,popular for an admittedly revolutionary breathing technique that unlocks spiritual potential,organized camps across many cities on his birthday.Devotees flew in from all over the world and large crowds congregated at the allocated venues.The crowds and cars predictably kicked up so much dust that all those who attended and attempted the deep breathing technique in the middle of the dust haze fell ill.Blind devotion led to near physical annihilation for many.

Amusingly,the first thing that ambassadors for most spiritual organizations will tell you is that they are the custodians of true wisdom.They will claim to be the Noah's ark that can carry you to safety while all other groups drown in their own ignorance.They fail the first test of spirituality:love and respect all.