What Does It Mean to Be Spiritual?

Introduction

The Vedas are the scriptures followed by people who practice Sanatan Dharma, the eternal religion. According to them, spirituality is the key to a happy and fulfilling life. But what does being spiritual actually mean? Let's look at it simply, with help from the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam.

1. You Are the Soul, Not the Body

At its heart, spirituality means understanding that we are spirit souls, not our bodies.

Think about your own life. You were once a baby, now you're older, and one day you'll be old. Your body keeps changing, but you, the person inside, stay the same. Krishna explains this in the Gita:

"As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change." — Bhagavad-gita 2.13

The soul never dies:

"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time... He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." — Bhagavad-gita 2.20

Our skin color, gender, job and titles all belong to the body. They matter less once we see ourselves as souls. That's why a wise person sees everyone as equal:

"The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]." — Bhagavad-gita 5.18

2. Why Do We Suffer?

Most of our suffering comes from thinking "I am this body." Bodily desires never stop, and every unfulfilled desire leaves us sad or frustrated.

Krishna explains how one small thought can grow into trouble:

"While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises." — Bhagavad-gita 2.62

Once we understand that the body and everything connected to it is temporary, we stop chasing these desires so hard. Happy and sad times also come and go, like the seasons (Bhagavad-gita 2.14).

3. Changing Our Desires, Not Killing Them

The soul can never be without desires. Wanting things is part of who we are. Spirituality doesn't ask us to stop wanting. It asks us to change what we want: fewer desires for pleasing the senses, more desires for pleasing Krishna.

That isn't easy. The mind produces an endless stream of wants, and as soon as one is fulfilled, another pops up. Krishna calls this lust that "is never satisfied and which burns like fire" (Bhagavad-gita 3.39). Even so, a spiritual person can stay peaceful:

"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires — that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still — can alone achieve peace." — Bhagavad-gita 2.70

Be like the ocean. Rivers keep pouring in, but the ocean stays calm.

4. The Car and the Driver

Picture a moving car. There is always a driver inside. If someone thought the car was moving by itself, they would be mistaken.

The body is like the car, and the soul is like the driver. Seeing the difference between the two is the first step of spiritual understanding. The Gita uses a very similar picture:

"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy." — Bhagavad-gita 18.61

So inside the body-car there is a driver, the soul, and also Krishna, the best guide anyone could have.

This doesn't mean we should ignore our bodies, though. A good driver takes care of the car! We keep our bodies clean and healthy so we can move steadily on the spiritual path. Krishna recommends balance:

"He who is temperate in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system." — Bhagavad-gita 6.17

5. A Spiritual Person Is a Happy Person

When we think of ourselves as souls, we don't stay sad for long. If we feel unhappy, it's often a sign that our senses are pulling us around. So the first quality of a spiritual person is joy:

"One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything." — Bhagavad-gita 18.54

6. Going Back Home

The body comes from matter and returns to matter. The soul comes from Krishna:

"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts." — Bhagavad-gita 15.7

Just as a child naturally longs for their parents, the soul longs to go back to Krishna. When we understand this without doubt, love for Him grows in our hearts, and that love is the real goal of life:

"The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self." — Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.6

The Four Pillars of Dharma

The Srimad-Bhagavatam describes dharma as a bull standing on four legs:

"In the age of Satya [truthfulness] your four legs were established by the four principles of austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness." — Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.17.24

When King Parikshit stopped the age of Kali from spreading, he allowed Kali to live in only four places: where there is gambling, drinking, prostitution and animal slaughter (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.17.38). These four activities break dharma's legs. Avoiding them, which devotees call following the four regulative principles, keeps the pillars strong.

Austerity: No Intoxication

The goal of human life is to serve Krishna and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani, with enthusiasm and without stopping. For that, the mind must be calm and steady. Intoxicants make the mind restless, so a spiritual seeker avoids them completely. Lord Rishabhadeva told His sons that human life is not meant only for sense pleasure, which even animals have. It is meant for tapasya (austerity), which purifies the heart and leads to unlimited happiness (Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.1).

Cleanliness: No Illicit Relationships

Cleanliness means keeping our relationships pure: no intimate relationships outside marriage, and self-control even within marriage. Krishna says, "I am sex life which is not contrary to religious principles" (Bhagavad-gita 7.11). In its proper place, within marriage and for raising Krishna-conscious children, it is sacred.

Truthfulness: No Gambling or Cheating

A truthful person earns an honest living. Gambling teaches us to depend on luck instead of on hard work and on Krishna. It also leads to cheating and greed, which pull us away from spiritual life. Just remember what one game of dice cost the Pandavas in the Mahabharata!

Compassion: No Meat-Eating

A compassionate person cares for every living being, because every creature is a soul too. A spiritual seeker therefore doesn't kill animals or birds for food. Krishna lovingly accepts simple, pure foods:

"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it." — Bhagavad-gita 9.26

Eating vegetarian food offered to Krishna keeps us in the mode of goodness (sattva guna), which makes spiritual progress easier.

In Short

Being spiritual means:

• Knowing "I am a soul, not this body"

• Staying calm like the ocean when desires come

• Caring for the body without being controlled by it

• Following the four principles: no intoxication, no illicit relationships, no gambling, no meat-eating

• Loving and serving Radha and Krishna with a happy heart

When devotion grows, the Bhagavatam promises, lust and greed fade away, and "the devotee is established in goodness, and he becomes completely happy" (Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.19).

All quotes are from the translations of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Sources (Vedabase):
BG 2.13 · BG 2.14 · BG 2.20 · BG 2.62 · BG 2.70 · BG 3.39 · BG 5.18 · BG 6.17 · BG 7.11 · BG 9.26 · BG 15.7 · BG 18.54 · BG 18.61 · SB 1.2.6 · SB 1.2.19 · SB 1.17.24 · SB 1.17.38 · SB 5.5.1