There is one short parable about a priest and a harlot. They lived next door, and every morning the priest saw the harlot returning from her nightly adventures, and every day he condemned her in his thoughts. And so time passed, both of them left their physical bodies and appeared before God. And God sent the harlot to heaven and the priest to hell. The priest, of course, in complete bewilderment asks God, how can this be, what kind of blatant injustice is this?
And God told him that every morning the harlot, returning home, prayed to God and asked him to give her strength to take the spiritual path and give up her vile craft, and the priest did nothing but condemn the harlot. And God judged very fairly which of them followed the spiritual path and who was just pretending. So what is spiritual growth, and how not to confuse the essence and form?
- Spiritual growth is a movement from the material to the spiritual.
- Stages of spiritual development.
- Where to start spiritual growth?
- Signs of human spiritual development.
- The degree of spiritual development is determined by the level of freedom.
What is spiritual development?
Everything, every living creature on our planet, is constantly evolving. Development is a natural process, both physically and spiritually. But spiritual development is inherent only to man, as far as I can, of course, judge. Perhaps other animals also develop spiritually, but it is still impossible to judge this clearly; unfortunately, we cannot ask a dolphin how it develops spiritually and what deity does it believe in, or what does it believe in? Therefore, we will talk about man.
Any development leads to a more global understanding. The more and better you understand the low, the easier it is to understand the high. You can’t jump straight from the beginning to the end, it’s not possible because you could go crazy. Therefore, any development must be gradual. Following the example of school from 1st grade to 11th grade (or how many grades are there in the Russian Federation now?)
Read more: What is reincarnation?
If we take esotericism and reincarnation as an example, we get that the soul must develop into something higher, otherwise it will have to degrade, which is fraught with a transition to low frequencies of development. To put it bluntly, eternal suffering. Perhaps we were already there, but forgot. Again, esotericism and reincarnation speak about this.
From here we get the conclusion that in order to go towards the light, the soul must develop spiritually. But this does not mean only religion, but I would say development in terms of working through negative emotions within oneself. Envy, anger, rage, arrogance, pride, etc. Agree, having a person with all the baggage of these emotions, it is difficult for him to move up and forward, since everything unnecessary pulls him down, on the contrary.
Spiritual development in simple words
I'll say it even simpler. There are forces, let's call them negative and positive. Your task is to strive for the light, leaving the darkness behind. It is possible that good and evil are only in our human understanding, but at least it becomes clearer this way.
What is meant by spirituality?
There is no comprehensive definition of spirituality that can convince of its practical necessity. Only one thing is clear: a person deprived of spiritual potential will not have a beneficial influence either on the development of society or on the happy determination of his own destiny.
What, then, should we focus on in order to develop qualities in ourselves that are more or less close to the spiritual ideal? A sociological survey conducted among students of several leading universities in the country showed that they made a conscious choice in favor of a number of life attitudes. The main ones include:
- comprehensive personality development;
- morality that ensures respect in society;
- meaningfulness of one's actions;
- formation of intellectual and spiritual baggage sufficient for career advancement;
- selflessness and devotion in friendship;
- soulfulness in love;
- equality in marriage, where a man and a woman help and support each other without disturbing peace of mind with unnecessary quarrels.
Young people are inclined to eternal ideals recognized by the majority. Such, for example, as faith in God, cementing the best spiritual traditions of generations. Moreover, the very name of the Lord will be different among people, signifying any of the world religions. But whether it is Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism, the concept of supreme justice, which each of the gods personifies, remains the same for representatives of different religions.
Patriotism occupies an important place among spiritual values. This sublime feeling concerns not only love for loved ones and the country, but also the readiness to consciously defend all this in difficult times. Family and society should instill it from childhood. Every child, when born, becomes a citizen responsible for his fatherland. He needs to constantly introduce this into his consciousness.
Do you know that for spiritual development you need to learn to love yourself?
I'm looking for 5 people who hate, are offended by themselves, who want to learn to love, appreciate and accept themselves for who they are
You strongly hate yourself, which means the world, people and everything around you
You are unworthy of life and regret your birth
You've never loved and don't know what it is
If you recognize yourself, sign up for a diagnostic consultation with a psychologist
