How to Truly Become Spiritual? Understanding Adhyatma Beyond Religion

Many people associate spirituality with religion, faith, or detachment from material life. However, spirituality is not about religious beliefs, rituals, or blind devotion. The Sanskrit word Adhyatma better represents what we need to do in life—it means “learning from the self.” The word “Atma” here does not refer to a soul or spirit but to one’s own self.

So, how do you truly become spiritual?

Step 1: Understand Why You Seek Spirituality

Before stepping onto the path of self-discovery, ask yourself:

• Are you running from your current life?
• Are you seeking pleasure in a new way because other sources have been exhausted?

If your pursuit of spirituality is just another way to chase happiness, it may not take you far. Momentary pleasure from trying something new is not true spiritual growth. Spirituality is like a soldier fighting endless battles with limited strength. Spirituality requires understanding who you are before you can rise higher.

Step 2: Recognize Your Connection to Nature

You are made of the same elements found in nature, bound by the same forces that govern the universe. Just as a stone on the path can be kicked away by a passerby, situations in life may push you in directions you never intended.

But should you suffer because of it?

Not at all. We are like marbles pouring down a sink—instead of resisting circumstances, we must learn to move with them. Life is not about controlling everything and be attached to it but simply working with what we have and what we know.

Step 3: Detach from Illusions—Emotions, Ambitions, and Expectations

We are conditioned to believe that emotions make us more human. Once you realize that we are all working in an unsynchronized harmony, It is difficult to let emotions affect us. These days, society appreciates a man who is emotional—but what does society know better anyway?

Being hopeless is good, being emotionless is good, and being ambitionless is even better since whatever we hope for, desire, or aim to achieve is only a product of needing more atoms and forces in our lives. How can someone possibly know that they will get what they expect? The future, as we all unanimously agree but also choose to conveniently forget, is unpredictable. If it were not, life would be so boring, lame, and stale.

Emotions arise as a response to the future—when things go our way in a dull and predictable manner, we feel joy and gladness. But when life surprises us with a twist, like a thriller movie, we become upset.

People watch movies and TV shows to see what’s new and unexpected, not to stress about it—so why do the same with your life?

Step 4: Compassion Comes from Understanding, Not Emotion

If compassion were just an emotion, the world would be very different. Compassion comes from knowledge and understanding, not from feeling sorrow or joy.

Take Hitler, for example—he was highly emotional yet lacked understanding that Jews are humans, leading to devastating consequences. Meanwhile, the world unites in compassion not because of emotions but because of awareness—realizing that all humans are the same.

So, the next time you meet someone driven by emotions, pity them—not for their feelings but for their lack of knowledge. But is it all about being compassionate and do nothing?

Step 5: Reduce Necessary Evils and Live Consciously

True spirituality isn’t just about personal enlightenment—it’s about reducing harm in the world.

• Luxury exists at the cost of someone’s suffering—Being overweight while others starve, keeping houses warm while people freeze in the cold.
• Fashion comes at a price—fast fashion fills landfills, while farming cotton, wool, leather, and silk cause harm to animals and nature.
• Shiny diamonds and coal have a cost—the people near these mines pay the price for human greed.

Human life is inescapably cruel, but we can choose to minimize unnecessary harm. That is the path of Adhyatma—true spirituality.