Much has been written about this subject before by many writers, authors. Thinkers and experts. While I do write from a mystical perspective and truth thereof, I neither claim nor dictate that my views and personal comprehension stand for the truth for every one else. I am not preventing any man or woman from having their own points of view and understanding. Much of the information in this series of articles is excerpted from my book, “Spiritual Science For Adult Beginners Book One, soon to be available at www.zenithgoldpublishers.com

The immediate difference between religion and spirituality is that while religion is exclusive- in that one has to subscribe to that one religion at the exclusion of all other religions, faiths, and beliefs, spirituality is inclusive in that any one adherent of any religion can embrace spirituality and retain his or her religious status or place in that religion. Spirituality cuts across religious, cultural, traditional, social-political and academic barriers. In other words, one does not need to abandon one’s religion in order to be a devotee, student or practitioner of spirituality. In this way, religions are limiting but spirituality is not. For this reason one can rightly say that compared to religion, spirituality can be said to be the higher state or consciousness of religion. If it were a coin, the religious side bears limitations of beliefs, faith and dogma and the spirituality side is the mark of infinite consciousness and freedom.

Before we proceed it is vital that we explain something about spirituality in the contest where it refers to what is specifically known by most initiates as the Path of the Saints. What I know is that the Path of the Saints (Spirituality) is not an organized system of worship or a matter of external prayer but rather, it is a matter of contemplative meditation designed to bring the practitioner to the point of vacating his physical body at will, merge his mind into Universal Mind realm and remain in his or her pure spiritual form as a Spirit (of God) in its pristine nature and then traverse higher spiritual planes until one re-merges into divine union with the Supreme Being and become one with that Being even as one still dwells in this world doing his work and taking care of family and social responsibilities.

The ageless saying that, “When the student is ready the master appears”, marks the beginning of the individual’s graduation from cultural, traditional and religious leanings to the spiritual platform when one is initiated into the Path of the Saints. Such initiation can only be imparted by a contemporary Divine Spiritual Guardian. Since time immemorial, Initiates of this Path have ascribed many different name-tags to these contemporary Divine Guardians in an attempt to describe them and their mission on earth. Such descriptive name tags include among others the following:

• Murshid (Sufi tradition).
• Savior, (Christian teachings).
• Ssebikuuno (African tradition)
• Master of wisdom
• Magi
• Living Spiritual Master
• Divine Spiritual Guardian
• Soul Doctor/Liberator
• Redeemer
• Wise Sage
• Etc.

The point is that unlike in religion where, usually, one is born into it because of the parents, in spirituality one matures and earns the divine call to be reconnected to that Path. This is called ripening or readiness and there is no force or power in the entire world that stand in the path of a ripened Soul or person as to prevent him or her from being attracted to the contemporary Soul-Liberator who is by destiny to serve as his or her Liberator. On the other hand any one who is unripe cannot comprehend the Path of the saints or Spirituality even if he were to study it for an entire life-time or a series of incarnations. The work of the Master or Soul-Liberator is to instruct one in the rudimentary stages and basics of the spiritual journey inwards.

It is unfortunate that many people in the world usually do not make a difference between:

• Orthodox, conventional religion
• Evangelical or gospel crusades and
• New age movements

on one hand and spirituality or mysticism on the other hand. This unfortunate affair is understandable when one considers the reasons why spirituality has remained a mystery to many a people’s lives and to their understanding. Mainly, many people think that every subject that concerns it self with the words “God”, “Spirit” or “Soul” is spirituality. In a way they are right. However, when we come to the point in time when we undertake to study and learn the true science that deals with the Soul or Spirit we then begin to realize vital differences in the many schools of thought or in the many various teachings that are mushrooming out there and everywhere around the world today, brandishing themselves as spirituality or mysticism. The truth is: there is a marked difference between religion and spirituality.

It is true that religion, evangelism and some new age groups espouse or teach some of the very things engendered in or by spirituality. However, speaking or knowing some basic principles about hygiene does not make one a medical doctor or an expert in the field of medicine. Yet, hygiene is an integral part of medicine as an field.

When a grade three pupil mixes some chemicals and the chemicals produce a chemical reaction it does not really mean that the pupil is a chemist or that he is conversant with chemistry and its dynamics. But in dealing with some chemicals and mixing them, he dealt with chemistry at that level. Likewise, many people in religion are like that pupil when they compare any belief-system, faith or religion with Spirituality or when they speak of religion as spirituality. Again, this is not to deny the fact that many aspects of religion actually form an integral part of Spirituality. Individuals in religion down history who sought to know more beyond what was offered them in religion and evangelism discovered there was another and higher ladder beyond religion. Because of their thirst and keen desire for the Truth, they were attracted to some contemporary Divine Guardian in human form who then instructed them in the Path of the Saints. It is in this path that one actually gets the higher divine secret instructions not found in religion or evangelism and in many new age groups. This explains why you can find mystics or saints in religion and in new age groups. It is because individuals in these areas transcended their respective belief and faith-based systems or areas and delved higher into super-cosmic consciousness.

The interesting fact is that out of divine obedience, those who do never reveal their secret to others in their peer groups. This is so because the esoteric law is that: when the student is ready, the Master appears. Also, there is the esoteric law that goes like this: do not throw pearls before swine and dogs; they will trample them under their feet and turn and rend you! Their time will come when they will comprehend spirituality in its true light. It may be sooner that they may think. When it dawns, the urge to know and accept the Truth is so irresistable and no power both on earth and in heaven can prevent it from happening. This is why in spirituality we judge no man. The sinner today may be the saint or the angle tomorrow.

Over millenniums and generations until this day, many people confuse spirituality with a number of subjects like spiritualism, psychic-phenomena, astral traveling, out of body experience, esoteric psychology, metaphysics with (or for) Spirituality. Each one of these has some connection with mysticism or Spirituality but none of them actually is Mysticism or Spiritual Science in its true sense, purpose and goal. (Please note that Spiritual Science and Mysticism are synonyms of Spirituality in this context)

For instance, Spiritualism is always confused with Spirituality. While spiritualism is a belief and practice of methods in which the dead relatives are believed to communicate with the living through a medium, Spirituality does not indulge or teach its neophyte to engage in spiritualism. Spiritualism is neither the focus, purpose or goal of Spirituality although one who is a Mystic or Spiritual Scientist can actually make conscious contact with spirits of the dead if he so chooses. It is like a Medical Doctor who is knowledgeable of such subjects like nutrition, homeopathy and yoga exercises without focusing on them in his practice as a medical doctor yet each one of the above subjects is really an integral part of healing and treatment of disease and health and a good medical doctor should be knowledgeable of them.

The reason why all these different subjects are confused with Spirituality is because they are integral parts of it since Spirituality is the mother of all subjects including mathematics, biology, chemistry, pharmacology, medicine, you name it. This is why one who is a true Mystic or Spiritual Scientist will always be conversant with many of the things within the realm of each one of these other subjects. For example, s/he will know all about religion, health science, medicine, physics, law, spiritualism, chemistry, biology, cookery, nutrition, fine-art, out of body experiences, natural healing, yoga, astral traveling, psychic phenomena, building construction, esoteric psychology etc. But to be a spiritualist or psychic or astral traveler does not mean one is a real Mystic. By comparison, not in the least.

Definition:

The Science of the Soul or Spirituality also known as Mysticism (not Mystery) is the study of the Spirit (Soul) where:

i- Man (Spirit) learns to (consciously) extricate his real self (as Spirit) from all forms of bodily coverings, and bodily senses of perception, at will.
ii- Man (Spirit) learns to free his true Self from the mind.
iii- Man or Spirit transcends the mind region.
iv- Man (Spirit) re-gains self-realization.
v- Spirit proceeds into the realms of pure spirit
vi- Spirit merges into the Supreme Being and thereby,
vii- Spirit attains perfect enlightenment or true sainthood in its pristine glory in oneness with the Supreme Sseggulumanda.

In this study of the Spirit (Soul), we learn of:

• The relationship between the Soul and the mind.
• The various forms or bodily coverings (the etheric, the astral or emotional and the causal or mental bodies) and their influence on the Soul or the Soul’s influence upon them.
• We scrutinize the soul and its relationship to the environment and to all creation.
• We discover Soul’s inherent relationship or “Sonship” if you will, to the Supreme Deity and how Soul can rejoin or re-merge into its heavenly Lord and Father and become one with IT. This practical, at-will process is esoterically known as "dying while living" or "Die to live". It has a part in theory, but rather, spirituality is a pragmatic undertaking. One must accomplish it while still dwelling in this world attending to his family and social responsibilities as a Living Saint. It is this conscious process that transforms one into a perfected being or living Saint. It is attained through contemplative meditation but one must have the right spiritual instructions from a contemporary Soul-Liberator.

Based upon the above understanding we obviously see the difference between Spirituality on the one hand and Spiritualism as well as conventional orthodox religions (as we know them today) on the other hand.

Originally there was no subject called religion/s as we know it or them today. Religions as we know them today are usually organized long after the departure of a contemporary Divine Spiritual Guardian or Soul-Liberator. Some religions are founded by prophets or apostles and other levels of some evolved beings chosen from some special duties to awaken humanity to some levels of consciousness. They come as fulcrums for mass social or belief-system movements. Usually when the Founder or contemporary Saint, Spiritual Master or Soul-Liberator is long gone and most of the initiates have departed, a stream of followers begin an organization which then becomes a religion focused upon the words, teachings and messages or life of the bygone Saint, Master or Redeemer. However, the followers not longer have direct personal contact and conscious at will connection with the bygone Master. This is the essence of religion. In the absence of a contemporary Divine Guardian or Master spiritual degeneration slowly ensues as the practicality of the Path is lost and the teachings are subjected to individual interpretations of people who never even saw or learned from the Living Guardian or Master. So when the Great Divine Guardians leave physical life and there is no one qualified left behind to guide people on the inner dynamics of the divine pilgrimage through the heavenly worlds to perfect attainment of God-Consciousness, everything becomes a religion, a mass movement of dos and don’ts but without the real key that unlocks the divine mysteries of the Mystic Path.

For example, we find that:

Christianity as a religion for example, was founded long after Lord Jesus’ departure somewhere in the year 325 AD at the council of Nicea presided over by the emperor Constantine in Turkey.
• Of the four gospels of the New Testament, none was written during Lord Jesus’ time on earth. At best they were written 60 years After His Departure.
• St. Paul (aka Saul) who is known to have been the first organizer of Christianity as an organized system was never a disciple of Lord Jesus the Christ. He never even saw the Divine Spiritual Master. His was but a dramatic transformation that was preceded by his great hatred of Jesus’ disciples and later, early followers.

Be that as it may, the fact is that there have been and are a number of true Religious Saints or Saints, in a number of religions. (Later, we shall discuss the question of religious saints and saints of the Path of the Saints or Spirituality). The fact is that at the base of the world’s major religions is to be found pure mystical truths obscured by time and lack of there being contemporary Divine Spiritual Guardians who must be “Perfected Beings” in pure Divine Union with the Supreme Lord. This was why even Lord Jesus entreated his disciples: Be ye perfect as my Father in heaven is perfect.”

Author's Bio: 

Bhuka Bijumiro-Jjumiro is an authority on various spiritually related subjects including but not limited to esoteric psychology, mystic philosophy, esoteric cultural anthropology, world spiritual history, African spiritual mythology, mysticism, comparative religion, numerology, and metaphysical science. He has impacted the lives of many people whom he has awakened to the ageless teachings and practices of the Mystics of all times and climes or specifically to the Path of the Saints as a result of public lectures on these subjects given on three continents; Africa, Europe and North America.