Man is a born seeker. His quest in life is to find the reality. Every human being regards himself as incomplete until he has found that supreme principle by which he can explain his existence in this world. He wants to discover the purpose of his life. This inquisitive nature is due to man’s urge to come to grips with reality—an urge such as is found in every human being, the difference between one individual and another being only one of degree: in some, the urge is weak; while in others it is strong. It is true that everyone is a seeker, but why are only a few its finders? This is because, where seeking is instinctive, finding is the outcome of one’s own conscious effort. In their conscious effort to find reality, people have looked towards different sources – philosophy, mysticism, science and especially spirituality. In this article I have taken an objective view of the different schools of spiritual thought to see if they can help a seeker in his search for reality.
Here, I would like to make an attempt to describe the main schools of spirituality in a simplified manner, so that it may be understandable to all, and to see which of them can help man in his search for reality or truth. Although many schools of spiritual thought have come to exist, here I would like to take five basic concepts.  They are as follows:
1. One concept of spiritualism is that of man-oriented spirituality in, which the target of the spiritual quest is to be found within one’s own self. According to this school of thought, reality is located inside our own personality and we have to simply look inside ourselves and establish contact with our inner self to find a treasure of spirituality.
2. Another concept of spiritualism is that of monism or the oneness of reality in which the creature and Creator are a part of the same reality and the target of the spiritual quest of man is that the creature (man) is to merge with the Creator (God).
3. A school of spirituality that has gained popularity is that of meditation in which the target of the spiritual quest of man is that he receives spirituality in the form of ecstasy. According to this concept man should leave the material world for the non-material world and by stopping his thinking process, concentrate on certain objects or recite certain words or chants or mantras – thus receiving spiritual nourishment in the form of ecstasy.
4. Still another concept of spirituality is based on the concept of tasawwuf. This is the spiritual school based on meditation in Muslim history. According to this school of spiritual thought, to receive spirituality, man should concentrate on and activate certain points in the human body, which according to them are centres of spiritual nourishment. In this way, the entire human personality can receive spiritual sustenance.
5. The Islamic school of spiritualism is based on the Quranic concept of spirituality or Rabbaniyat. This system is based on the duality of reality or the concept of monotheism. According to this concept, the creature and Creator are separate from one another. According to this system, the target of the spiritual quest of man is that the creature – man – discovers and realizes God – His Creator and makes contact with Him. This concept of spirituality is the true Islamic concept of spiritualism.
Let us take an objective look at each form of spirituality to see if reality can be found through them.