Sahar-un-nisa Haroon
Spirituality. It is belief in a power that is operating the universe. It is a sense of ‘interconnectedness’ with the divine and yet with all living beings.
Spirituality. It is marked by altruistic love and compassion. Selflessness.
Spirituality. It also enlightens us; enlightens us about our self! It enhances the development of our absolute values. It is that realm of light which bestows us with inner peace.
And all this certainly contributes to our sound health.
In simple language we can say that well-being is being satisfied, content with life; when the purpose of our existence has been achieved.
Spirituality is basically the best healing power; it actually provides us hope that beyond modern science there is an ultimate power that can heal us. The belief of being blessed empowers us with a strength to fight against our illness and leads us to wellness. The healing power of spirituality is not visible to bare eyes but is only empirical. Or it can be observed in the behaviour.
Medical science may help in treating the problem, but even there spirituality acts as a good buffer against the problem and helps develop a coping mechanism.
‘Facets’
Spiritual practices like meditation and yoga foster feelings of optimism which in turn bring out a healthy behaviour, a positive attitude towards life. This further wipes out depression and anxiety. To be more scientific, spirituality actually has an influence over our immune system and also cardiovascular, hormonal and nervous systems. The Seventh Day Adventists in Netherland are an example. They practise a religion of shunning alcohol and other drugs and it has been noticed they are much happy and living healthier life.
Faith, one of the dimensions of spirituality, is known to increase the body’s resistance to stress. Hope increases our lifespan as fewer illnesses are found in ‘hopeful people’ and this has been proven by 35 years of clinical study by Harvard graduates.
Forgiveness, another lesson in spirituality, encourages release of hostility and resentment by which people are less prone to get angry or violent. And we all know aggression and irritation are the main causes of various illnesses. Further, emotional stability is one of the main dimensions of our well-being and spiritual practices like altruistic love and social support strengthen our emotionality.
‘Alcohol Anonymous’
The working of Alcoholic anonymous (AA) is also a spiritual practice which transforms drug addicts into healthy participants of a society. It’s basically an organization working for the betterment of addicts but the best part is they don’t disclose the name of their participants, hence anonymous.
They ask their participants to disclose their experiences with each other and by doing so such people don’t feel that they are the only sufferers. They experience social support by sharing and by attending sessions. This positive feeling is a facet of spirituality which this group only enhances in their participants.
‘One for all’
Today spirituality plays a very significant role in health issues, not only for patients, but also the ones who treat them. Doctors. They do a service, the noblest of all, by helping cure millions of sick people. But mind you, sometimes even they need support, an urge to go on. It is spirituality, filled with lessons of altruism, which lights a spark in them, encourages to keep on moving ahead, tirelessly.
Finally, ill-being does not mean only poor health conditions; it is also related to a low level of satisfaction in humans. Spirituality gives us the ultimate satisfaction as we get to know the real purpose of our existence. It modifies our behaviour in accordance to the law of nature and not according to man-made laws, which are usually materialistic in spirit.
Well-being is being like the sun, brimming with radiance. And it is spirituality which bring the best out of our personality, our best side. Ultimately a sense of well-being is achieved and the shackles of ill-being are left out.
(The author is a research scholar at Aligarh Muslim University. Feedback at [email protected])
