Finding your light through spirituality
Written by Joao Paulo Assis (Samavarta Das)
Edited by Lote Līva Leimane
*this is an opinion piece*
What is God ? Can we even define this "word", or can we agree on the definition?
I've been looking for God my whole life, I was born and raised in a christian Brazilian family, very engaged in church events and my religious life since i was a child, but then, early in my teenage years many questions appeared, and they did not seem to have a clear answer, or better saying they had the same answer "because it's God's will".
This way of thinking bothered me, so I started my inquiry to answer this fundamental question "What is God?". I've studied many religions, collected decent knowledge in the main ones. Very often I felt that I was close to answering my question, but that would never happen. It took me a lot of maturing and effort to find peace in my heart, I've dived deep into the spiritual/religious world, I've even lived in a monastery for 2 years as a monk, all of that just so I could find my internal peace.
The point of this article is not to answer this question for the reader, but to raise some more. First, if you do not believe in God, remember that God may not be what you were told by family or society, he is. So take a second to think and realise that maybe you believe in something else, a cosmic energy, a power behind actions, the universe, whatever you may want to call it.
The point is, there is more to life, then just our logic and reason, there are emotions and spiritual connections, think of the person you love the most for example, maybe your mother, your husband, a son, think of them, feel that love, imagine losing them, all of this pain, do you really believe it is just a chemical reaction in your brain ?
Well some people do not know love though, so let's give a different example, think of the most cruel and vile crimes you've heard of, spirituality exists for the good and for the bad, people forget that darkness is the absence of light, one cannot exist without the other, so, if you do not find your light, it is sure that the darkness will conquer you.
This does not mean you need to become a monk because otherwise you'll be a serial killer. What I mean is, you'll never fully experience life if you can't find your light, in religion, spirituality or anything else, you'll never fulfil your purpose, let alone find peace if the darkness, depression, anxiety is taking you over.
Be careful though, there are plenty of fake lamps attracting the weak flies.