Spirituality:
Not an Escape from Life, but a Way to Meet Life

Onday a conversation between mother and son

Twenty-five-year-old Siddhu complained to his mother. Amma, I’m feeling very stressed… The workload is too much. Tension, anger… nothing is under control.

His mother looked at him with concern and gently stroked his head. “Come with me to the meditation class. Everything will be fine.”

The moment he heard that, Siddhu exploded. Why meditation at this age? That’s for people above fifty or sixty. I don’t need spirituality right now! In anger, he stormed out of the house.

Like Siddhu, many young people today push spirituality away from their lives. But what is spirituality really?

What Is Spirituality?

A practical inner skill that enables us to live clearly, freely, and fully.

When you hear the word “spirituality,” what comes to your mind?

• Living in the forest
• Saffron robes
• Renunciates
• Giving up desires
• A life without mobile phones
• Long hours of meditation

Pause for a moment and observe.

These are not born from your direct experience.

They are images created by culture.

Now ask yourself honestly: What connection do these have with your anger, fear, stress, confusion? If spirituality does not connect with your inner life, it remains only an idea — it never becomes a living skill.

Why Do Many People Reject Spirituality?

Many believe:

• It means withdrawing from life.
• It’s only for old age.
• It destroys ambition.

This is because spirituality is often portrayed as an escape from the world. But in reality - When the mind runs fast, when emotions peak, when ambition and fear collide, it is during youth that inner clarity is most needed. Living without understanding the mind is like driving a powerful vehicle without knowing how to steer it.

Spirituality: A Clear, Practical Definition

Spirituality is not religion, God, rituals, or belief.

Spirituality is the skill of clearly observing:

• Your thoughts
• Your emotions
• Your bodily sensations
• Your impulses
• Your reactions

Through this observation - a small space is created between blind reaction and conscious response.

This is a learnable art like

• A gym trains the body
• Education trains the intellect
• Spirituality trains inner awareness

So Where Do You Begin?

Spirituality does not mean sitting alone every day and meditating. It begins while life is happening.

A Simple Practice:

Once a day — when anger, anxiety, or fear arises:

• Do not try to change it
• Do not judge it as right or wrong

Simply observe: “What is happening right now?”

Ask gently:

• What sensations are present in the body?
• How is the breath flowing?
• Is the mind racing?

Two minutes is enough. Do not look for solutions. This observation itself is the first step of spirituality

In Conclusion

You may drop the word “spirituality” if you wish. But— Who does not want to be the master of their own mind?

The method, the practice, the skill that enables this— that is what we call spirituality. Spirituality is not running away from life. It is being ready to meet life fully. It does not begin at sixty. When the mind moves fast, that is when it is most essential — in youth.