Forms of Spirituality

The term ‘spirituality’, is highly related to concept of spirit. In a nutshell, the concept of spirituality is closely related to the religious faith or belief and may be segregated in the following manner:

Faith - It is basically an idea of trustworthiness or belief in the ideals and rituals propagated by the various religious leaders and texts. In this form of spirituality, an individual entirely depends on religious faiths and abides within the preaching’s and customs of the religious community.

Knowledge - It is different from faith-based spirituality which is a belief. People, who believe in knowledge, be it scientific or analytical, possess a different idea about spirituality, and according to them, knowledge is the only power to understand spirituality. Knowledge-based spirituality denotes the understanding of things and the desire through which an individual wants to achieve knowledge about life, based on his or her own goals and vision.

Mysticism - The literal meaning of mysticism is obscure or irrational thought. It is one of the important forms of spirituality that is related to the religious beliefs or faiths. Mysticism is a principle or an idea, which is related to the immediate consciousness of God. It may also be expressed as a combination of one or more than one principles and is also referred to as the direct experience of religious facts or truth.