Introduction
Spirituality has great importance for every many and woman. It has many aspects to it from mental peace to human values. Since spirituality is interwoven in our personality, it has a deep relationship with our lives also. Spirituality and human values both are interlinked with each other. If spirituality goes out of our lives, there will be no human values. Since I have discovered spirituality as supreme truth, I can say that the whole of my life has been a journey towards spirituality.

Spirituality as a philosophy, has a long history of five thousand years. It ancient Greece, there were several great spiritual philosophers, like Plato and Aristotle. During these five thousand years, there arose many philosophers who produced spiritual thought. In our present time also there have been many spiritual philosophers like Descartes, Bradley, Bergson etc.in the western world and Aurobindo, Rajagopalachari and Radhakrishnan in India.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Spiritualism is the philosophy of higher reality which is defined by different philosophers in different words like, “immaterial reality.” “a universal mind”, “a supreme being”, "a spiritual cosmic force”, “an infinite personal God”, etc. Here, I am not going to give a philosophical survey of spirituality of spiritualism. The academic aspect of spiritualism is not my concern at present. I would like to make an attempt to describe spirituality in a simplified manner so that it may be understandable to all.

What is spirituality? Spirituality is a high state of intellectual awakening. Spirituality is a higher level of consciousness. Our world is a dual world – a world of things, a world of meanings. When one elevates oneself to a level where material things become secondary and inner meanings become of prime importance, then one is a spiritual person. Spirituality is only another name for high thinking. It is no exaggeration to say that spirituality makes a man a superman. Spirituality makes a nation a super nation. Spirituality elevates one from the limited world of things to a limitless world of meanings. Spirituality activates that intellectual process which is necessary for the development of one’s personality. Spirituality makes you an intellectual giant. Spirituality enables you to defuse your tensions. All other things become insignificant in comparison to spiritual achievement. It brings you to an eternal world of bliss, where there is nothing but eternal contentment. This is a point where losing is also gaining. Indeed, spirituality is the greatest source of crisis management.

A spiritual person can bear every loss, for he feels that the loss which is material in nature is always far less in comparison to what he still has in his possession in terms of spirituality, and it is a treasure that no one can take away from him. The importance of spirituality is made very clear by the following historical example. America destroyed Iraq in March 2003 by heavy bombardment. It could have been very easy to save Iraq from all this destruction. According to the demand of the US, had Saddam Hussain abandoned his political career after 24 years in the presidential office, Iraq could have been saved. But Saddam Hussain did not accept this condition, the reason being that he did not have in his possession anything greater than his political office. Had Saddam Hussain been a spiritual person, he would have felt that, even after abandoning his political office, he still had something greater than that. After leaving his political world, he could have lived in a spiritual world far vaster than that. Spirituality could certainly have saved both Saddam Hussain and Iraq. But a lack of spirituality destroyed them both.

Contrary to this, we have the example of Gautam Buddh. Gautham Buddh had everything at his disposal; power, wealth, a magnificent palace, a beautiful wife and a beloved son. But he sacrificed everything for a greater goal, the reason being that he was in search of spirituality. First he was a seeker of spirituality, then he became a finder of spirituality. It was owing to a lack of such spirituality that President Saddam Hussain could not sacrifice his political office, which ultimately led to the destruction of Iraq. On the contrary, Gautam Buddh, being in possession of spirituality, was ready to forsake his political world for the sake of it.

Spirituality is not something to be imported from outside. In fact each human being is a combination of body and spirit. It is an expression of this spirit which we call spirituality. What generally happens is that every man and woman take great care in nourishing their bodies, while their spirit is allowed to starve. This is taking place today on a a very great scale. That is why spirituality has become a rare commodity. The cases of most men and women are that they are strong in terms of their bodies, while they have grown weak in terms of their spirit. Thus the only solution to this problem is that just as all men and women take great care of nourishing their bodies daily, similarly they must continuously feed their spirit. We have to scrupulously keep ourselves away from those things which are harmful to our spirit, for instance, arrogance, bias, revenge, dishonesty, greed lust etc. All such negative sentiments serve as erosions to our spirituality. We ought to be extremely conscious in this matter and keep ourselves away from all those things which kill our spirituality. Jesus Christ has said: "man cannot live by bread alone". It means that physical food cannot provide complete fulfillment to man. It requires something more. This something more is spirituality. If food is needed for nourishment of the body, spirituality is needed for nourishment of the soul. Both are required for the complete development of the human personality. We know that the human body is nourished by material food, but the question arises as to how our soul can receive its nourishment. The position of soul can be likened to an ore. And the position of spirituality can be likened to steel. How can this 'ore' of the soul be developed into the 'steel' of spirituality? According to my experience, high thinking alone provides the answer to this question. This means thinking by rising above the mundane. Every man and woman is confronted almost daily by such situations as give rise to negative thoughts. It is in situations such as these that the soul has to be nourished and nurtured for its development. Giving negative response to negative situations is akin to the erosion of spirituality. Consequently the soul suffers from starvation. On the contrary giving positive response to such situations amounts to the spiritual nourishment of the soul. In short, one can be blessed by a developed soul by opting for the way of foregiveness at times of anger; converting sentiments of jealousy into one of well-wishing, negativity into positivism, hatred into love, defusing tensions instead of harbouring them: above all converting material loss into non-material gains by opting for the course of introspecting at time of complaints and grievances.

Spirituality thus serves as an intellectual booseter for one’s personality. Spirituality elevates you from the material world to the non-material world. Spirituality enables you to become an intellectual human being, rather than an earning animal. In our present world people are generally earning masters. But they do not know the art of thinking. Due to this, everyone appears as a physical giant. But at the same time, he is an intellectual dwarf. This disproportionate development of human personality has created a number of problems. Among these, one is known as 'tension' or 'stress'. People are not able to manage their problems and the price of this intellectual failure is mental tension. Spirituality is the greatest source of crisis management. Spirituality cultivates high thinking in every man and woman, and this high thinking enables him or her to manage every crisis, to find out solutions in every situation. Once a youth of Delhi came to me. He said I am working in a multinational company. I receive a good monthly salary. But I constantly live in fear. Multi-nationals have adopted that employment principle which is generally known as: Hire and Fire. So, I always live in fear. Fear of losing my job. I asked for his diary and I wrote these words in his diary: One can take away your job. But no one has the power to take away your destiny. Then I explained these words. The youth was quite satisfied. His mind was completely changed. He adopted my formulae consciously and he is working in the same company and there is no problem for him. He is happy with his life.

It is a fact that difference is a part of nature. Difference is an integral part of human life. We have to know the art of living with differences rather than try to eliminate them. But due to intellectual starvation, people are unable to manage their differences. It is only difference management that helps you to solve the problem of difference. Only a spiritual person can deal successfully with this problem. Spirituality saves you from falling victim to materialism. Thus spirituality gives you enough time to develop the process of intellectual thinking. Spirituality develops your intellectualism. Consequently, you become the master of difference management.

Spirituality is like a bomb. In fact, there are two kinds of bombs, a physical bomb and a spiritual bomb. Each is totally different from the other. A physical bomb can be produced in a mechanical factory, while a spiritual bomb requires a human factory. A spiritual bomb is produced within a human being. Only a truly spiritual person has the capacity to produce a spiritual bomb. If the base of the physical bomb is hate, the base of the spiritual bomb is love. If the spirit behind making a physical bomb is destruction, the spirit behind making a spiritual bomb is construction. If the aim of the physical bomb is to kill, the aim of spiritual bomb is to give life. If the method of the physical bomb is violence, the method of the spiritual bomb is peace. The physical bomb is a manifestation of ego, while the spiritual bomb is a manifestation of humility. In short, it is solely the spiritualized person who can produce a spritual bomb. For the process of making spiritual bomb begins from the spiritualizing of one’s own self, and not in launching activities in the outside world. It is a fact that the spiritual bomb is far more effective than the physical bomb. The other difference is that physical bomb is produced is some external material factories, while the spiritual bomb is produced in one’s internal spiritual factory. To manufacture spiritual bombs, no external infrastructure is required except your inner being, your own mind.

According to my experience, everyone is potentially a spiritual person and everyone is in a position to turn his or her potential into actuality. Spirituality is a power. Spirituality is like a peaceful bomb. A physical bomb can destroy cities, but the spiritual bomb hits man himself. And when man is conquered, nothing else is left to be conquered. To illustrate this point, I would like to give some examples.

1. A hundred years ago, Swami Ram Tirath of India visited the U.S.A. At that time an Indian Swami was an unfamiliar sight for Americans. When he reached the coast of America, he was simply clad, without having any trolley of baggage. Seeing him all alone, an American asked him in astonishment, “Where are you going? Do you have any friends in America? The Swami replied: “Yes, I have one friend and that friend is here.” Saying this, he embraced that American. This spiritual response was so powerful that the American had no option other than to accept him as his friend. This American became his host as long as the stayed in America. He also became his disciple, spreading his message of love and peace in America. Spirituality is a power which does not require any weapons.

2. In the wake of the demolition of the Babri Mosque in December 1992, communal riots erupted in different parts of India, particularly in Maharashtra. I organised a Shanti Yatra with Acharya Sushil Kumar and Swami Chidanand in 1993. We visited about 3 dozen places from Bombay to Nagpur. We reached one town which had been badly affected by the riots. It was all charred, ruined buildings with smoke still coming out them. I addressed a huge public meeting standing on a broken wall. During my speech charged with emotion, I uttered these words: “Why are we here? We are here to extinguish the fire by our tears, the fire which the fire brigades have failed to extinguish." I was speaking with tears rolling down my cheeks, and the gathering too was charged with emotion. These words were straight from the heart. It was like addressing the gathering in spiritual language. The result was miraculous. I had dropped a spiritual bomb and the riots stopped altogether.

3. Dr. Ahmad Sultan, the great grandson of Tipu Sultan, was a supporter of our peace mission. Once he visited a town in Maharashtra on the occasion of the annual Ganpati procession. The Muslims of the town were afraid of riots. They thought that the Ganpati procession would surely provoke Muslims and the result would be a bloody riot among the two communities. When Dr. Ahmad Sultan came to know of this situation prevailing in the town, he gave this advice to be imam of the mosque and other Muslims. He said that it would not be possible to stop the procession or change its route, but that it would be quite possible to stop the communal riots. Then he advised them to obtain a dozen “phoolmalas” and keep them in the mosque. And when the procession passed by the mosque, the Imam should go out to welcome the leaders by offering them ‘phoolmalas’. The imam of the mosque and other Muslims appreciated this advice and followed it. When the procession reached the mosque, they received it with the phoolmalas. This kind of reception was like dropping a spiritual bomb. Again, the result was miraculous. The whole atmosphere was changed. The processionists were so excited by this spiritual gesture that they abandoned their provocative slogans, and the mood of violence turned peaceful. Hindus and Muslims began shaking hands and embracing each other. The procession became a symbol of communal harmony rather than of communal clash. This sea change was brought about by the power of spirituality. I have experienced this power repeatedly in my life. And every time the result was miraculously positive.

Owing to its long traditions, India may be called a land of spirituality. Here I recall an event pertaining to Swami Vivekanand. One day during his visit to America a 100 years ago, he was walking along a street in Chicago, and according to the Swami tradition, he was clad in just two pieces of untailored cloth. An American lady, seeing him in these clothes, found this very strange. She whispered to her husband: “I don’t think that person is a gentleman.” Swamiji overheard this. He went up to her and said, “Excuse me, madam, in your country a tailor makes a man gentleman. But in the country from which I come, character makes a man gentleman.” Here I would like to add a very relevant story. You know, Mother Teresa was born in Europe. She visited India and she was so fascinated with this land of spirituality that she decided to settle here. She dedicated all her life for social cause. In recognition to her services, she was awarded prestigious noble prize. On this occasion she was invited to the USA to address an American audience there. She began her address with these historic words. “I have come from a rich country to a poor country.” She was indeed referring to the spiritual wealth of the country. It is a fact that India has a long tradition of spirituality and moral values. In other words, potentially, India is a spiritual bomb. This is the true spirit of India. We only need to revive these Indian traditions in our lives and then India will emerge as a spiritual super power in he world. It will be able to conquer the world with its spiritual bomb, with using any destructive weapons. Turning this Indian potential into reality, would need a long and sincere effort. It is a struggle involving four phases, consisting of purely peaceful methods.

First of all, we have to build individual minds. We have to bring about a change in their thinking. Then we have to build a society in line with these principles. This again requires a non-violent struggle, in the complete sense of the phrase. Then we need to build a nation on these principles - a nation which knows the difference between peace and violence, a nation that knows the difference between the spiritual and the non-spiritual.

Individuals are the constituents of a society that make a nation. And a nation armed with spiritual power is in a position to inculcate spirituality in the international life. India, by changing itself, can change the whole world. Let us work for this noble cause. Why is India a spiritual power? This is traceable to its long spiritual tradition. Where the western world was engaged in technical activities in previous centuries, India during those same centuries was engaged in spiritual activities. While the Western world was busy producing material experts in the form of physical scientists, during the same period; India was busy producing spiritual scientists in the form of Swamis and Sufis. It is this difference which is mainly responsible for the difference between India and the western world. India might be an underdeveloped country in the material sense, but it is a highly developed country in the spiritual sense. It is in this sense that I say that India is potentially a spiritual super power. We need to produce a spiritual renaissance in the 21st centuries. Herein lies the secret of attaining world leadership for India.

On the 10th of April, 2004, when I switched on my radio set, the announcer was giving this news: ‘The day of Saddam is over’. I said it would be more appropriate if we put it in these words: ‘The day of violence is over.’ The war of Iraq was the climax of the culture of violence. Now the age of the culture of peace has begun. Now the entire world is craving for peace. It is here that India has a chance to play an important role.

Swami Vivekanand was a great soul of India. I think he was quite right in predicting that, after independence, India would emerge as a spiritual leader of the world. In spite of all the material progress which has been made, the world is in search of spirituality. Here I would like to refer to a very relevant incident. I once saw a white youth, simply clad, walking along an Indian street. He looked very happy and contented. I struck up a conversation with him and learnt that he belonged to affluent western country, i.e. Canada. I asked him why he had left his own developed country and came to India. He quietly replied: There I was comfortable physically. Here I am comfortable spiritually.

Now the time has come for us to take a big initiative in this regard. I would like to suggest that we should establish an international university for spiritual studies. This university will serve to produce living spiritual bombs. After their training, it's students will spread all over the world as ambassadors of spirituality. Then that world based on peace and spirituality will be brought into existence, a world humanity has been waiting for so long.

Spirituality is the identity of India. Spirituality is a natural gift to our country. Lofty Himalayas have served as an abode of spirituality for centuries. Ganga and Jamuna are flowing with the eternal message of spirituality. Lofty green trees provide spiritual solace. Beautiful birds are chirping with the song of spirituality. This rare combination of spiritual greatness is found in India only, making it a spiritual super power.