First a clarification: What is the difference between Spirituality and Religion? Both Religion and Spirituality promise a way to overcome suffering and achieve ultimate fulfillment & happiness. Religion starts with the assumptions that there is something missing or something wrong, and then prescribes a set of rituals that will help us to fill the gap and correct what is wrong. It promises a destination state that is 'perfect' in all ways, but invariably perfection can only be found at a different place than where we are and a different time than now. Most religions prescribe a particular path and insist that theirs is the 'best' or 'only' way to perfection. On the other hand, Spirituality seeks to help us discover our true nature that is already complete and perfect. The bold promise of spirituality is that this realization of our true nature of completeness is well within our reach, right here, and right now! It points to our ignorance of our true nature and helps us to remove the ignorance through various paths, all leading to the same Truth. (For more details on the different paths of spirituality, please refer to my earlier blog.) So, is there a role for Spirituality @ Work? Yes, since the goal of spirituality is to help us overcome suffering and find fulfilment, and since we experience challenges, suffering and lack of fulfilment at work, it must be possible for us to bring spirituality in our work space too. Let's look at four paths of spirituality and see how they can be applied at our workplaces:
Selfless service in every-day work: One of the most powerful paths for spirituality is the path of "selfless service to others". As a team leader or a team member, instead of asking "what's in it for me?" we can inwardly make a promise to serve our team to the best of our ability. Then as we selflessly help our team members navigate the various challenges that they face, we experience a deep feeling of inner fulfilment. Be it helping a colleague get through an important presentation to the board, or a simple onboarding program for the new batch of interns, an attitude of Selfless-service can make our every-day work deeply fulfilling.
Leading through crises with Love and surrender: Another path of Spirituality is the path of love and surrender to Universal Intelligence. This path encourages us to face crises with a deep faith in the Master Plan of the Universe, and starting with that faith do what needs to be done. It is a path that helps us to overcome paralysis in the face of crises with acceptance of the moment and empowers us to respond with the deepest conviction that everything is happening with a reason. COVID brought forth millions of examples across multiple levels in organizations, where people didn't stop to question "why?", but acted out of a sense of love and surrender.
Mindfulness and Meditation provides the anchor to make difficult Ethical decisions: Another powerful path of spirituality helps us to still our mind using techniques of meditation and mindfulness. If you picture the mind as a lake, when the mind is agitated it is like a stormy & muddy lake, and when the mind is calm it is like a smooth and clear lake. When you are faced with a complex business situation or a difficult ethical dilemma, Mindfulness and Meditation techniques can help us to clear the mind, zoom-out and think through to discover the best way forward.
Leading in diversity with Knowledge of Oneness in all: Finally, the fourth path of Spirituality is the path of Knowledge of Oneness in all beings. This path points through methods of reasoning that we are all innately One. Beneath the surface level covering of body & mind, which we refer to as personality, we are made of the same 'substance' that is consciousness. In fact, the Latin root word for personality is "persona" which refers to the theatrical mask, worn by performers to play their roles or disguise their identities. When we engage with people from different backgrounds, we can act with the spirit of inclusion, knowing that we are truly One.
In summary, we can see that the four prominent paths of spirituality, viz. the paths of Selfless Service, Love & Surrender, Mindfulness & Meditation and Knowledge of Oneness, can help us in our workplace to overcome challenges and discover deep fulfilment. #spiritualityatwork #fulfilmentatwork #deepfulfilment #coachinglife #executivecoaching #innerfulfilment
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The author, Anuj Chadha, is a Life & Executive Coach, Founder of Three Circles. At Three Circles, we build a deep understanding of what it takes to navigate the challenges that life throws at us. We partner with our clients, listen to their life aspirations, and support them to break through the obstacles that seem to be holding them back. Life is too precious to be unhappy, unsure, or unfulfilled. Partner with us as you re-imagine and re-create the Life that you Love!