Most of us are unhappy not because we have less but because we think so. The moment we make a correct assessment of what we have in terms of physical possessions and social relationships, most of us will find ourselves in a different world of contentment.

People often claim to be spiritual. Some of them may be genuinely spiritual. But the question is how to determine if one is really spiritual. There are, of course, ways to ascertain it.

Most of them are under the illusion that spirituality would sweep them away from their social, professional and economic activities. That is one misapprehension that scares them away from getting oriented to spirituality. Nothing could be further from the truth. These false impressions have unwittingly left a fear psychosis.

Much has been said about the power of spirituality. There are many legendary spiritual figures who have demonstrated supernatural power and influence in their life.

Some people fear that if they embrace a spiritual way of life and thinking, they might too turn into ascetics, who abandon their family and career.

Most of them are under the illusion that spirituality would sweep them away from their social, professional and economic activities. That is one misapprehension that scares them away from getting oriented to spirituality. Nothing could be further from the truth. These false impressions have unwittingly left a fear psychosis.

Spirituality is, in simple terms, good for an attitudinal change. It is true that without a change in attitude we cannot achieve happiness. Most of us are unhappy not because we have less but because we think so. The moment we make a correct assessment of what we have in terms of physical possessions and social relationships, most of us will find ourselves in a different world of contentment.

Many authentic findings have established that people keep on postponing to enjoy a state of happiness in the hope of getting something more than what they have at their disposal. If they turn their head around and change their outlook, they have every reason to be satisfied with their life. Spirituality helps people to turn around this way from darkness to light, dissatisfaction to satisfaction and unhappiness to happiness.

Spirituality being something personal, a question arises if it can be put to a test. How to determine whether somebody is spiritual or not? I think we can do it through self-examination. In order to understand spirituality in person, one has to first understand the five basic senses that man is made of. They are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and touch. They are the instruments of information and knowledge duly acquired by our mind.

However, the mind is not the synonym of man, the term we use to express the inner being. Nevertheless, the mind is used in common parlance to denote our attention and inner being. In that sense, the mind receives the knowledge and stocks it in what we often express as intellect. In the internal world, there is something beyond and above the mind.

This entity different from the mind is a constant observer watching what is going on inside us. It does not distinguish the good from bad, correct from false and harmful from beneficial. Observation is the only task it is capable of doing. We can call it the spirit, the soul or super-consciousness. It is known differently. However, the function it performs is one and the same. That is an observation in our internal world.

We can say in general that those who are familiar with these phenomena and their interrelationship are spiritual. They should be able to differentiate the internal from the external. What goes on inside does not necessarily reflect outside. Nor does every external factor have its impact inside. One can master over the inner phenomena by following spiritual discipline. But there is no way one can command over the external forces responsible for happenings outside.

However, a spiritual person tends not to be affected by such bias and is found to think often objectively. A spiritual initiate starts changing opinion on issues and people shirking away from the inherent bias. In other words, we can say that prejudice gets on loosening with the passage of time and helps develop objectivity in every circumstance.

Those who are spiritually aware eventually develop a power to grasp this distinction between them. The dual beings of a doer and an observer can act externally in sync with their inner sources. In these circumstances, they may appear at times ridiculous, incongruous or out-of-place, but they find themselves clear on what they act upon or do not. This is one way of testing spirituality in oneself.

The second way of testing spirituality is to see if one has developed a self-supervisory power. With spiritual awareness, one is able to look at oneself and keeps a constant vigil over oneself. If one is angry, he/she is conscious of anger hovering over. The fact that one is aware of one’s own anger acts as a tempering factor and, as a result of it, anger starts losing its absolute grip over one.

The result of the expression of anger is not as disastrous as it would have been if its rage were let loose uncontrolled or un-tempered. Similarly, a truly spiritual person is able to examine one’s own social conduct and behavior and make a judgment if one is going out of bounds or is acting within the accepted decorum.

The third way of testing is to see if one is developing an attitude of neutrality. We find most of the people in society holding very strong opinions on controversial issues. They believe they are correct in their outlook whereas those holding opposite views are wrong. Prejudice plays a vital role in such opinionated people.

However, a spiritual person tends not to be affected by such bias and is found to think often objectively. A spiritual initiate starts changing opinion on issues and people shirking away from the inherent bias. In other words, we can say that prejudice gets on loosening with the passage of time and helps develop objectivity in every circumstance.

The fourth method of testing is to see if the spiritual initiate appreciates others’ conditions and opinions. There are people who give a damn to others’ opinion. They never try to understand as to why other people act or acted the way they do or did. This kind of attitude of critical appreciation creeps in those who are getting spiritually inclined.

The fifth criterion of the test can be applied to whether one’s outlook is getting broadened or not. Broadening of viewpoint on an individual, social and global issues should naturally flow from the spiritual initiates. Spiritual awareness liberates man from the bondage of pride and prejudice and helps embrace a broad view of the universe in the course of time. That is how spirituality helps people to find their proper place and feel a sense of fulfillment in their life.