Benefits of spiritual practice
There are several benefits in commencing spiritual practice and being persistent with it. In fact one will be able to perceive some benefit almost immediately. Each of the benefits has a direct or indirect effect on increasing our happiness or reducing our unhappiness.
Balanced state of mind
Each of us today lives such a fast paced life. One rarely takes the time to step back and view one’s life with a zoomed out perspective.
As you can see from the diagram the blue wave indicates a reduction in the magnitude of being thrown off balance by circumstances. In fact our emotional state becomes more resilient and we are able to handle both positive and adverse situations calmly. This happens by virtue of our knowledge of the science of Spirituality, as we are able to apply a more philosophical view to life.
Here are two examples of this.
1. When a person attains fame in his profession (artists, models, actors) – then the entire world applauds and supports him. In a couple of years his name gets embroiled in a scandal. There may be no proof but the same people who had once applauded him begin to gossip and express their disappointment. Soon enough the person is forgotten and a new person is put on the pedestal and applauded.
What then should the attitude of such a person be when peoples’ opinions of him have changed so much? If such a person were to have a balanced state of mind then even when people at first praised him, he would think, “People think the world of me, but I know all my shortcomings and so I will continue to improve myself.” Later when people hurled accusations at him, if such a person had a balanced state of mind, he would have thought, “People are against me but in the quiet of my heart and between God and me, I know I am innocent, so their words do not disturb me.”
2. In today’s times, there is a higher possibility of losing one’s job due to the state of the world economy. Those who are mentally stable due to spiritual practice will remain calm in such situations since their faith lies in God and not in their bank account. Due to this they can think positively and take such an occurrence as a new beginning and thus become more inventive and creative in order to support their family. The calm mind saves energy that helps in addressing issues and resolving them.
