According to the German philosopher, Nietsche, the secret of bringing a developed man into existence lay in self-thinking. But in my opinion, that is a half-truth. The whole truth is that the secret of producing a developed man lies in anti-self thinking. The reason for this is that everyone lives in some society or the other. This society continually exercises formative influences on his mind, until finally his thinking becomes totally conditioned by those influences. The American psychologist, J.B. Watson also, wrongly took the man conditioned in this way to be a real man: but he was an artificial rather than a real man.

The process of spiritual development in fact begins with the de-conditioning of this conditioned mind. The more one de-conditions the mind, the more one will gain in spiritual development. Spiritual progress is just not possible without taking such a step. The truth is that everyone is born spiritual. Everyone is Mr. Nature or Mr. Spiritual by birth. But, after birth, he lives in a society, which continues to condition him. Spirituality makes it possible to erase this conditioning and allows the individual to revert to the natural state in which he was born. Spiritual science is, in effect, another name for the de-conditioning of the mind. There can be no spirituality without this.

In this respect, the human mind can be likened to an onion. In the centre of the onion, initially, there is a small kernel. Then layers start forming, one upon the other. This process continues until the inner kernel is totally covered with external layers. Now, apparently, layers alone are visible. The kernel is completely covered and remains invisible. To find the kernel of the onion, all the external layers have to be removed. Similarly, all the conditioning has to be removed in order to restore the natural man to his pristine nature. This process of de-conditioning is similar to the removal of the onion’s layers. The whole concept of spiritual science is highlighted by this example.

Spirituality is generally taken as something that is opposed to worldliness. People usually assume that the farther they move from material and worldly things, the more spiritual they become. This is the sole reason why human beings run away from cities and towns to jungles and mountains, leaving behind their homes and their material lives.

Man is an intellectual being. He is endowed with a mind, which is his greatest faculty. It is only the possession of this mind and his independent thinking, which distinguish him from the animals. Real spirituality is that which has the power to address our minds. Any kind of spirituality attained at a level lesser than that of our minds is not true spirituality. All forms of ecstasy are just reduced forms of spirituality.

When a scientist discovers the scientific world, he doesn’t leave the material world, but rather stays here, studies and makes discoveries in this very world. Spirituality is also a science. Consequently, in spiritual science the same method is valid, i.e. undergoing spiritual experiences while remaining in the material world.

Spirituality is the process of converting our everyday material events into spiritual experiences. While living his social life, man is affected by events, which trigger negative thoughts such as malice, lust, anger, arrogance, greed, etc. But when man raises himself above his immediate surroundings, i.e. from the material level to a higher level of thinking, he experiences real spirituality. At this elevated level, man is able to eradicate his negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. Thus we can say that there are two levels of thinking — the lower level and the higher level. A higher level of thinking makes man a spiritual person and a lower level of thinking results in the ‘animalisation’ of man, in which state there is no appreciable difference between the life of a man and that of an animal.

Spirituality, as an intellectual activity, is a science of inner development, and material things indirectly contribute towards that development. In fact, material life is made more meaningful by the proactive role played by spirituality in intellectual refinement and the consequent progress of humanity. Spirituality does not, as some may imagine, arrest the thinking process, but rather enhances intellectual activity in the complete sense of the word. In short, spirituality makes a man a superman.  It is a complete way of life.

Spirituality, in its awakening of the mind, provides the best formula for character building. It is a great strength at all times. Spirituality, in effect, is a promoter of all good and a killer of all evils. Everyone may be born spiritual, that is, one may be spiritual by nature, but, after birth, one lives in a society, which, with its multiple influences conditions or shape man’s personality or nurture one based on negative feelings – just like the layers of the onion that cover its bulb. These negative feelings can be of anger, revenge, jealousy, hatred and rivalry.

The individual, to regain his spiritual character, has, therefore, to de-condition himself through a superior intellectual process, which will necessitate his mental de-conditioning. And it is spirituality, which makes it possible to de-condition the individual, so that he may revert to the natural state in which he was born. For this to happen, he has to re-engineer his mind. Man must become disciplined and not allow his personality to develop under the influence of external incentives. He should by his own decisions construct his personality on the basis of higher principles. Only then will he be of a divine character. He has to shake and jolt and remould his personality to abide by the plan of the Creator. He has to turn himself into the kind of person who is shaped not by society, but by spirituality and is thus able to live a God-oriented life.

CPS International and its affiliates are spreading the message of contemplative spirituality by making people aware of the importance of awakening their intellect. They are helping people develop clear thinking and start the deconditioning process in them to convert negative influences into positive ones and results in what is known as a positive personality – the essential ingredient for success.