Spiritual Quotes

Are you curious to learn about what spirituality is?  Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place, my friend.

Let’s begin with what spirituality is not. Spirituality is not religion, though a spiritual person can certainly be religious.

A spiritual life is about you as an individual – who do you want to be? What qualities do you wish to imbibe so that you become a better human being? How will you contribute to the greater good of humanity?

Leading a spiritual life begins with you and you alone. And the spiritual quotes below are a great jumping-off point for the wisdom that spirituality offers.

We promise you, it’s life-changing. Are you ready for it?

Spiritual quotes

• Your conduct defines your spiritual growth.

• Our innate need for validation arises from the ego. Take charge of the ego and experience spiritual awakening.
• Non-fulfillment of desires and expectations is often at the root of human suffering. Why don’t people value me? Why doesn’t my partner love me? Why isn’t the world waiting for me? Why isn’t my work appreciated? And so on.
• If you are graceful in the face of conflict, your spiritual attitude is exceptional.
• We can’t develop an unconditional spiritual attitude without cultivating patience and selflessness.
• The ability to watch our emotions without giving in to them is the mark of a spiritual warrior.
• We are so compelled and controlled by our emotions and desires that when in the throes of them, our viewpoint seems so right and legit, no logic works at that time. That, however, can’t be the excuse for not evolving spiritually.
• The only way to grow spiritually is to look past yourself.
• Just because the other person is hurting me, or people disagree with me and don’t reciprocate etc. are not good enough reasons for me to abandon patience, selflessness, and compassion. And sometimes, the only way of transcending your small personal issues is by devoting your energy to bigger ones.

Spiritual Awakening Quotes

• Life is too fast and too precious to not live it fully. That is, at times, we get so busy searching for our truth in the reality of some other world, that we completely forget to make the most of this life we have right here. We get so busy looking that we stop seeing.
• Passion to appreciation – this is the journey of spiritual awakening.
• Only a genuine appreciation and love for life is beyond passion. Everything else is passion disguised in one form or another. Whether it’s seeking wealth, fame, enlightenment, or anything else – the basic nature of passion remains the same: it builds yearning in us.
• The spiritual journey of inner peace is not dependent on external paraphernalia.
• If it’s fulfillment you seek, look past yourself. Even past all methods of meditation, yoga, and so on. Methods don’t necessarily lead to fulfillment. While they may help us become more mindful of our words, actions, and speech, at the end of the day, it is our attitude that fuels our fulfillment.
• The spiritual journey towards enlightenment is life’s most arduous and most rewarding journey.
• One of the greatest misconceptions about enlightenment is that it will just happen. Not so. It has to be earned, it has to be lived. Sometimes I find it challenging to explain to seekers that true enlightenment is not a one-off special moment, but more a culmination of lifelong experiences and practices that result in the dawning of a great insight.
• The biggest spiritual gift we receive is life’s challenges, prodding us to grow.
• Without preparation and readiness though, any spiritual experience is hardly transformational. And if an experience doesn’t trigger some kind of lasting transformation in you, however subtle, it holds little meaning ultimately. When you continue to walk the path sincerely, diligently, many learnings, lessons, and experiences give you the wisdom to lead your life differently.
• Spiritual awakening enables us to feel others’ hurt and pain more strongly than ever.
• Enlightenment does not mean that you don’t feel the pain or remain eternally unaffected by everything that goes around you. All of that we must go through based on our karma, temperament, and attitude towards life. The only thing that changes is that you grow into a more spiritual being, you become increasingly resilient and kind. What life hurls at you doesn’t change, how you catch it or dodge it, does. When it builds to a tipping point, you become kind of independent, very independent. Less worried about what the world thinks of you, how it perceives you, and so on. 

Spiritual Quotes About Love

• At any rate, my fulfillment in life is my personal responsibility. Who has ever discovered an ocean of happiness by looking up to the other person?
• Nobody has ever progressed on the spiritual journey by expecting completeness through someone else.
• We must have the courage and wisdom to walk the path of dharma with contentment and gratitude instead of constantly counting on others to fill our cup up.
• True spiritual wealth is the happiness inside us.
• It’s not possible to love someone without first being fulfilled ourselves. 
• Everyone’s journey towards spiritual love is vastly different.
• The feeling of fulfillment is an inner experience. Others can give us a glimpse of it, but in the end, it’s your own depth of character and existence that dictates how content you are.
• Treat yourself like you want others to treat you – this is spiritual leadership.
• Whatever you seek from others, learn to give it to yourself first. To be selfless in love is to love the other person the way he or she wants to be loved. Start with yourself. Take responsibility. You won’t find yourself waiting for someone to knock on your heart’s door. Instead, you’ll discover that your heart is as big as the sky, it has no doors, it’s vast and has ample room for everyone.
• When we lead a spiritual life filled with devotion, we begin to emit love and kindness naturally.
• You always draw your energy and inspiration from whoever is the center of your life. In love, you become the one you love. If it’s a materialistic person, you’ll find yourself becoming increasingly materialistic too. If he or she is a spiritual person, you’ll evolve into a calmer person. If he or she is the restless or narcissist type, you’ll feel restless and anxious yourself. If the center of your life is beauty, God, divinity, compassion or any of these, you’ll become an embodiment of that. Choose Carefully.
• What if we pivoted in a spiritual direction and gave out only kindness to the ones who have wronged us?
• Unless we foster a spiritual outlook towards our own life and others’, we can’t really hope to rise above our petty thoughts and emotions. We place too much emphasis on self-comfort, on why I’m being treated or not treated a certain way. How about why shouldn’t I be more selfless? Why shouldn’t I be more giving? 
• Spiritual practices will help us overcome emotional decision-making, made in a fit of blinded rationale and diluted logic.
• Vulnerability masks our true feelings, it clouds our judgement, it deludes us into seeing what we want to see as opposed to the real truth. That is why any wise person will tell you to never jump into a relationship or take any major decision in the face of grief, heartbreak or bereavement. Sorrow must run its own course and dry up before you decide to venture out again or invest your feelings in another person.

Spiritual Healing Quotes

• You can’t really move on in life unless you allow self- healing.
• Our weakest decisions arise from an emotionally wrung-out heart and an inadequate spiritual life.
• When we are vulnerable, we often make wrong choices.
• Paradoxically, vulnerability clouds our ability to view others objectively while also helping us become a spiritual, more compassionate person.
• Being vulnerable is essential to your personal and spiritual growth. It makes us more sensitive towards ourselves and others. But, when it comes to deciding what you ought to do next, wait until you are healed.
• A familiar scent, a song on the radio, a dish – spirituality requires being vulnerable and letting go of the things that once brought us the most joy.
• And until you are healed completely, vulnerability is painful and remains a persistent threat to your spiritual evolution.
• Here are the most important spiritual words you’ll ever need to know – forgive, forgive, forgive. Others and yourself. ​​
• There is no better way to heal yourself than practicing forgiveness. 
• From a state of acting to a state of being – this is the biggest spiritual gift in any lifetime.
• When you experience that void where the abuser refuses to own up to his actions, you will undergo a painful process of transformation, but you must go beyond the act of forgiving and practice forgiveness as a virtue, instead. This is something Jesus Christ did, for example. No one went to Christ to apologize and yet he chose forgiveness over any other response.
• Don’t you wish to love yourself the way you give love to everyone around you? This is spiritual health.
• You owe it to yourself. Allow your scarred soul to heal. Let the mind calm down. Don’t let the past keep scraping your wounds. Redeem yourself, my friend. It’s a very short life. This is your chance to live it.
• Here’s a shortcut to spiritual healing in this very lifetime – forgive everyone. Especially yourself.
• No forgiveness means no healing. Little forgiveness equals little healing. Complete forgiveness is nirvana, it’s liberation. https://os.me/self-healing-through-forgiveness/ 

Spiritual Quotes about Life

• Opportunities are knocking on your door all the time, presenting you with your purpose of life, if you choose not to hear them and instead be fixated on, or keep waiting for, some grand, big-bang, unrealistic event, you’ll be disappointed.
• Your spiritual life is not waiting to happen; it’s right now.
• If you wish to live your ideal life, first devote every ounce of energy and enthusiasm to your present one. Before long, you’ll know your purpose in life which in turn will lead to a deep sense of fulfillment.
• If you don’t have a passion in life, build your spiritual wealth and make what you’re doing right now, your passion.
• When you put your heart, mind and soul into whatever you undertake, it liberates you. A liberated soul alone walks through the journey of life effortlessly and gracefully, like a master swimmer pierces through water. It’s a sight to behold.

Spiritual wisdom quotes

• Whatever we are attached to or hold dear in our hearts, losing it is only a matter of time. It is inevitable.
• Look upon pain as a spiritual gift from life. 
• We mistake our pain for our suffering. We have little control over the former but the latter is almost entirely in our hands. We can take things in our stride or be tossed in the tide. This choice, we must remember, is in our hands. At all times.
• Do you know we were born for joy and not suffering? Spiritual wellness is our natural state.
• Often blinded by our experiences, conditioning, and set in our ways, though, that’s exactly what we do: we step on snakes, run into fire and allow needles to poke us. Snakes of attachments, fire of desires and needles of jealousy and covetousness. They bite, burn and hurt. We call it suffering and we think that this is the way of life.
• The spiritual journey of life is temporary, transient and incredibly short.
• “Nothing Matters. Eventually.” The sooner we realize this, the quicker conflict or challenges will stop bothering you.
• No matter the spiritual direction our journey takes, the only certainty is uncertainty and the only constant, change.
• Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Loss is unavoidable, grief isn’t. Death is certain. And life, well, life isn’t certain. Its uncertainty, unpredictability, even irrationality, is what makes it what it is: worthwhile, a blessing.
• A spiritually awakened being is supremely detached from life while his soul is bathed in bliss.
• Needles can’t prick your soul nor fire can burn it. Water can’t rot it and heat can’t dry it. (acchedyo ‘yam adāhyo ‘yam akledyo ‘śoṣya eva ca…BG 2.24) And snakes you ask, what about the snakes of attachments? Well, that a yogi wraps around his/her neck and yet remains unharmed.
• Here’s a shortcut to spiritual wealth: gratitude.
• Sometimes only when we hear what all others go through, do we realize what a blessed life we have.
• Meditation doesn’t make you a spiritual warrior; practising kindness does.
• If it is spiritual progress you aspire for, the virtues of compassion and gratitude, of empathy and humility have to be inculcated and practiced. There is no other way. You can be firm, you can say no, you can deny a request, you can do all that and much more without foregoing compassion.

Motivational Spiritual Quotes

• If nature has blessed you with so much that you can afford to read this blog on a phone, tablet or a computer etc., somewhere then, it becomes your duty to do your bit to make this world a more beautiful place.
• Goodness is not just an option but a necessity to evolve into a spiritual leader.
• There is no reason for us to forsake our goodness, to not count our blessings, to not help others, to not be gentle. What a blessed life we have, let’s allow others to dip into our joys and resources. The path of goodness is most rewarding for the one who seeks enlightenment.
• Develop a spiritual attitude by practising one random act of kindness a day and keeping your everyday blues away!
• Add up your good deeds. One tiny act of kindness here, one gesture of affection there, a word uttered out of compassion, some help you extended someone. Assisting an old person or a disabled person cross the road, or just letting the lady with a child behind you to check-in before you at the airport, all these make up the purpose of our lives. These acts give us the strength to be good when everything around us may nudge us to be otherwise.
• To worry is an ingrained tendency, to rise above it is divine spiritual leadership.
• We are not on this planet to waste our life by constantly worrying about this and that. Worrying takes the life out of our life. Somewhere, one must gather the courage to set oneself free, to be where one wants to be, to do what you’ve always longed to. This is how fulfillment is going to come in your life. This is how life is going to feel complete. Work will never end. There’ll always be a list of outstanding action items. But, in all this, we must not forget to live. 
• Our purpose in life doesn’t fall from the sky; it’s eked out, one step at a time, as we traverse the spiritual journey.
• No one is born with a purpose, everyone discovers theirs. A life without meaning is a boring life bereft of anything to look up to.
• Do you know who the creator of your spiritual awakening is? You.
• If you have been waiting patiently and life hasn’t given you an opportunity yet then go grab one. Opportunities don’t really knock, they are created. As Buddha once said, “Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.” 
• As you move more and more in a spiritual direction, the things that are not meant for you automatically fall away.
• As you commit yourself to a life of purpose and happiness, your fears go away because nature catapults you into a much bigger play field. What you gain is a million times more than what you may ever lose. Anything that could possibly disappear from your life is not worth anymore than pocket change for a billionaire. That’s what purpose does. 

Inspirational Spiritual quotes

• Not only nothing is permanent in life, absolutely nothing is certain either. The sooner we understand that life offers no certainties whatsoever, the easier it becomes to handle life. Take it as a given that no matter how sure you are about anything in life, as you evolve, those certainties will disappear.
• Every choice you make and every spiritual practice you undertake changes what your future looks like.
• No matter what decision you make, which path you take, you will not be greeted by certainty but by doubt, challenges and self-doubt (and eventually rewards too). Keep walking. Our future is not set in stone, not everything is predestined. You can rewrite your script and work towards any desirable outcome, provided you understand that the goal you aim for may not be the outcome you actually seek at all. 
• The beauty of the spiritual journey is that what we set out to do is often not where we end up at all.
• A lot can change, and often changes, from the moment we begin our journey to the time we reach our destination.
• Life’s transience is not a bane but a boon for spiritual healing.
• Uncertainty, unpredictability and impermanence is what makes our life both intriguing and beautiful.
• Spiritual love is not an analysis within the confines of one’s mind; it is a feeling that arises from the depths of one’s very soul.
• At any point in time, life will carry in its core plenty of confusions and contradictions. Accept it. While reasoning may douse our curiosity and help us grow, it doesn’t mean it will make us any happier. Happiness doesn’t come from reasoning, it comes from our understanding and acceptance. 

FAQ’s

1. What is the one non-negotiable factor for spiritual attainment?

We talked about in terms of spiritual attainment what are some of the things that one ought to have or one must do in order to progress on the path. Because, you cannot break free of your innate tendencies with ordinary or limited efforts. It requires an intense effort. But by effort, I am not suggesting that it is about meditating for ten or fifteen thousand hours. Beyond that a certain righteousness, leading a virtuous life is non-negotiable. If you are really interested in progressing on the path, there is no substitute for noble conduct.

Listen to this discourse full of wisdom by Om Swami on how leading a virtuous life is a must for spiritual attainment

2. How do I measure my spiritual quotient?

The question is on the path of spirituality you think you are doing everything right and you are all charged up. You are all enthusiastic, disciplined and so on and so forth but one blow and all goes down the drain. Why? What to do in that situation? And at that time doubts creep in and you question everything whether it has any meaning, if it is true or not and so on. If I have a rubber band, by looking at the rubber band, I possibly can’t tell about its strength. But if I stretch it and stretch more and stretch it a bit more, its elasticity is its only strength.

The test of spirituality is always in adversity. If in your adversities, you shake off your faith then the question is were you really spiritual ever? In my posts, I have repeatedly used the phrase the path, the path, the path of spirituality and so on. But really it’s not a path. It is not separate from your own worldly life.

Listen to this discourse by Om Swami to find out more.

3. What is the connection between science, spirituality and surrender?

The first question – science says that all thoughts merge in the brain. Our scriptures too, talk about 3 bodies- the physical, subtle, and the causal. What is the truth and if in our day to day life we can know this truth?

When you meditate you are trying to calm your brain down. You are trying to train your mind. The mind is just not only the brain but it’s available all over the body as the cells have their intelligence as well. Om swami says that it’s possible to realize this truth in your day to day life and it’s possible to separate pain from suffering. That is what the scriptures teach us and that is the goal of spirituality and that it’s the ultimate realization.

The second question – in surrender, sometimes, we do not want to discern right from wrong and leave things as they are and it leads to a passive kind of behavior. Is it ok to use your judgment even if you have surrendered?
if by surrendering you mean that you don’t have to worry about anything or don’t have to do anything then it is an incorrect assumption. The outcome is surrendered and not the action. Surrender does not mean that we wash our hands off our karma. Listen to the full discourse to get a deeper insight.

4. Does self - realization mean using 100% of the capacity of your brain?

The question is does self-realization mean that you would use your brain one hundred percent because an average human being does not use more than two or three percent? I think science has this misconception that we only use two or three percent of our brain. Why? Because science is thinking from the results of some imaging that if there is not enough activity happening in the brain and if not areas are red that means I am not using all areas. I don’t think that is right way to consider the usage of brain. Still, let’s assume we are not using one hundred percent, is self-realization hundred percent utilization of your brain?

5. What is spiritual wealth and how do I earn it?

To Cover your spiritual journey in life, you need spiritual resources. You need spiritual wealth. As with any kind of wealth, you can either earn it, invest it or you can spend it. It is up to you.

6. What is enlightenment?

The question asked during the discourse was – What is true enlightenment? Aren’t all truly enlightened supposed to have the same perspective in life?

The issue is that seekers search for the absolute in everything. But the reality is that there isn’t just one ocean, and somewhere all the oceans connect. There is no way of truly proving if one is enlightened or not because one can only judge if one has experienced it.

In the video, Om Swami narrates a beautiful example of what The Buddha would ask when asked abstract questions

7. How can a married couple help one another walk the path of self-realization?

When two people are married how can they help each other in self-realization or god realization? Both have to be willing to begin with that yes, we want to walk this path and help each other. That desire needs to be there in both of them. If it is, they are a very lucky couple. Their life is going to be so beautiful that words perhaps cannot sum it up.

When two people can sit down and do japa (chanting) together for example or share a view of how we ought to lead this life, life could not be more beautiful then. And, that really begins by first consolidating or agreeing on certain core values. That, okay we will not do certain things in our lives. That, if our goal is to lead ourselves to a state where we will be so at peace that in our last moments we will just merge in the supreme consciousness and while alive we will forever bask in that glory, then we ought to simplify our lives.

Listen to this beautiful discourse by Om Swami to find out more.

8. Why is the ability to ask questions significant in life?

The greatest barrier to getting an answer is in the receptivity and readiness of the person asking the question.

In Buddha’s lifetime why were there only a handful of enlightened people? Similarly, Christ walked on this planet some 2000 years ago, but why did he appoint only 12 Apostles? Because, it is so easy to lose sight of the truth and get caught up in the materiality of the truth which holds no significance.

Watch the full discourse for further insight.

9. What is the role of God in self-realization?

What is the role of god in one’s spiritual journey and can one be spiritual or attain a degree of self -realization without god in it? It actually is a beautiful question because often we confuse the two. Often, we think god is somehow equated with self-realization or that a spiritual path means god or something to do with god. Until you experience god, God is merely a concept, a theory, a viewpoint, perspective or someone out there.

A truly spiritual person is one who has kindness in his or her heart, who does not have hatred for other people, who does not have a big load of grudges. That’s a spiritual person. Everybody else may be religious but not necessarily spiritual. Religious acts are a matter of invention. Spiritual acts or spiritual realization is a matter of discovery. There is a huge difference between the two, invention and discovery. You can invent whatever you like. You can invent experiences, you can invent scriptures, you can invent kriyas, and you can invent methods and processes.

Listen to this discourse by Om Swami to find out more.

10. What is one piece of advice that will change my life?

Om swami says, ultimately it’s about merging in your higher self, either when you die or when you experience merging in your higher self while you are alive. Once you experience merging in your higher self, the way you operate will change naturally. Living mindfully and being genuine help one’s good qualities shine through without letting negative tendencies overpower them. Whatever you feed will be strengthened.

The second question asked – How does one differentiate between doing and overdoing in terms of faith and other matters in life? Om Swami says, if you are doing something, and it takes over your life then you are overdoing it. One who is consistent will not need to overdo much. Overdoing is not always bad, sometimes one needs to overdo to accomplish some things – it just means you have placed your focus and priority on one thing above all others.

The third question asked – Are most spiritual gurus born with special blessings? Om Swami says that this isn’t true. What happens though, in the case of people who walk a certain path in life, samskaras from previous lifetimes pull them towards leading a certain life. They could be doing anything they want, but they don’t want that life and would rather lead a simple and spiritual life. When samskara is mature one could say it covers their reasoning ability, and no one can talk them out of it. Everybody is born with a special blessing, being born itself is a blessing.