This may appear to be a strange question. What is the difference many would ask? It is very rare to be asked “Are you spiritual?” Instead it is almost always “Are you religious?” Mankind has substituted the word “spiritual” with the word “religious” and that is a great pity. It is nothing more than one of the consequences of accepting the inferior, as mankind has done for thousands of years. This, it goes without saying arose out of placing the intellect above life itself, the spirit.

Because every help that the Light over millennia had rendered to every human race had been turned into a religion, it is then not surprising that it is this inferior word “religious” that has remained and that has become fully engrained into our consciousness. To be considered religious is actually an insult to those who have become knowing and have started their ascent towards the Luminous Heights.

The human intuitive perception knows this and many human beings do not like to be considered religious. Somehow intuitively many people know that there is something wrong with this word and have tried to distance themselves from it. Many human beings feel a kind of shame to be labelled as religious and this can be interpreted in two ways. For the spiritually strong (even if these do not know it yet), it is an unconscious rejection of this word, since their strong spirits do not identify with it. For those not so spiritually strong, it is fear of criticism from their peers that is responsible for this rejection.

Additionally, many people feel that organised religion has not really been able to offer a clear path to them. There has been no clear explanation as to who we are and wither we go. These have not been fully explained to anyone, hence the caution that these people exercise towards the word “religious” and the unintended affiliation or endorsement it brings towards any organised religion.

Therefore away with this word “religious” and become “spiritual” instead. One will soon realise that there is indeed a great difference between the two. One will soon discover that the dull teaching of the religions which is actually oppressive has nothing whatsoever to do with reality.

Spirituality denotes conscious knowledge. It does not demand blind faith, but on the contrary requires us to open our eyes and investigate Creation. It gives the most wonderful freedom to be. To go out and be human beings as the Lord originally intended that we be. It stipulates the conscious knowledge of the Work of God which is this Creation, and the application of this knowledge for the advancement of all. Now what is more interesting and alive than that?

The nature of the world, the nature of man and all that surrounds him must become clear to every true human being who wants more in his life than the mere basics of eating and drinking. The dull teachings of the religions have driven away many a human being from the spiritual path. It simply oppressed them and they could not accept the dull caricature of the great Creator presented to them from all sides. The great Creator Whose Power they clearly sense within themselves. As a result many become atheists. They confuse religion with God and consequently throw the child out with the bathwater. Others, in their quest for knowledge join all kinds of occult societies, which in most cases is nothing but the utter glorification of man. 

Away with all this! No spiritual contortions are necessary for the recognition of God. This desire to recognise the Almighty is natural to the human spirit and what is natural is also simple. All we need do is seek out the Truth, but in so doing make certain that we do not impose conditions on this Truth that it must conform to our pre-existing ideas and concepts. This is where we go wrong. That way we miss the path. We must accept the Truth as It is. What binds many of us are these pre-existing concepts that we find utterly difficult to do away with. These pre-existing concepts are often fraught with errors. It is this fact we must be brave enough to accept.

With this decision, our path to the Luminous Heights will then be open and we will be counted among those who reject the word  “religious” but joyously accept the word “spiritual” because the latter stands for freedom.