WHAT IS SPIRITUALITY?

Spirituality is a personal journey for the transformation of consciousness. You may ask why it is necessary to transform consciousness. There are seven stages of Spiritual Development according to Dr. Sonari’s Stages of Spiritual Development. The NATIVE is born into a particular culture and embraces most if not all the elements of the culture; the NEOPHYTE is a beginner on the spiritual path; the AWAKENED sees the LIGHT and wakes up from her cultural hypnosis; the SEEKER searches for knowledge to make sense of his experiences or to answer the questions in his mind; the REBEL rises in opposition to the established way of life in the culture; the ENLIGHTENED pierces the veil of ignorance and understands the way things are; the SAVIOR attains unity consciousness and develops compassion for all creatures without discrimination.

The purpose of these stages is to help you to follow a proven track on your spiritual journey.  The spiritual journey does not necessarily follow a chronological order because we are all at different levels of spiritual development. And some of us might even breeze through the stages because of our experiences. A NATIVE for example could be highly evolved on the spiritual path without knowledge of it because of a lack of awareness about the spiritual aspects of life or a belief in an aspect of the culture or society.

Your Spiritual Journey
According to the Bhagavad Gita there are three ways to live a spiritual life and they include the Path of Action, the Path of Devotion and the Path of Wisdom. The Path of Action emphasizes performing one’s duty without the expectation of rewards. The Path of Devotion emphasizes devoting oneself to a personal God or the Divine. The Path of Wisdom emphasizes a personal journey toward spiritual realization. It involves knowing who you are and the environment around you.

UNISM mostly focuses on the Path of Wisdom but it is your personal journey. In other words you decide the path of your spiritual journey; our responsibility is to support you with educational materials, practices and celebrations. UNISM also shares in the teaching that spiritual Development can only be achieved with the help of the SOUL. This is what Swami Vivekananda said about the SOUL: “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own SOUL.”

Now the question is how one can reach the SOUL? According to the Upanishads “There is something beyond our mind which abides in silence within our mind. It is the supreme mystery beyond thought. Let one’s mind and one’s subtle body rest upon that and not rest on anything else”. Maitri Upanisad

UNISM has developed a Study Program for the different stages of the Dr. Sonari's Stages of Spiritual Development. 

Please Find out more information on Spiritual Development