How does spiritual wellbeing affect the overall quality of life?
Spiritual wellbeing is life-transforming. If there is wellbeing of the body and the mind, of course, we live a good life. But spiritual wellbeing is true wellness that goes beyond the wellbeing of the body and the mind. It makes life meaningful and purposeful. It leads us to a life of peace and bliss. It connects us with the Supreme Immortal Power we God. It eradicates all misery and suffering as it enlightens us with the truth, liberating us from the triple suffering of the pain of the body, the misery of the mind (fear, stress, worry, anxiety), and the agony of the ego (anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance).
Spiritual wellbeing is the result of living a spiritual life, as opposed to a material life. How can we even experience spiritual wellbeing, unless we live a spiritual life? We experience spiritual wellbeing when we overcome the cravings of the body, we transcend the mind, we drop the ego, and we live as the Divine Soul, realising that we are all one. We realise who we are, what the purpose of life is. When we live with the realisation of the truth, when we live with meaning and purpose, and love for one and all, it opens the doors to everlasting bliss.
Unfortunately, most of us live a material life. We are driven by material desires. We become slaves of the material world. Our need becomes our greed. We experience negative emotions. We set material goals and we only see the outer surface of life. We are unable to go beyond and deeper to realise the spiritual world. We are covered by layers of ignorance that act as dark clouds that stop us from seeing the clear blue sky and the beautiful sunshine that lie beyond. We live as the body only to die; we don't realise our true self.
A spiritual life is an entirely different experience. We realise that material pleasures make us sink in misery, life after life. We realise that we are not the body that we wear. We are the ones that wear the body. We realise that we must tame the monkey mind and make it still by observing it. It is only when we tame the mind, make it silent, thoughtless, that we experience peace. We come to know that we are not a human being who is having a spiritual experience, but rather the Spirit having a human experience.
The journey to spiritual wellbeing often starts with being religious and believing in God. We live with faith, hope, trust and enthusiasm. Even those living a material life may live with these positive emotions as they live in the material world. But a spiritual life takes one deeper. It makes one ask questions and investigate the basis of our existence. It tries to go deeper to understand the Soul or the Atman. One slowly transcends the body and the senses knowing that these are the cause of suffering.
We attain spiritual wellbeing when we discover the meaning of life as we overcome the illusions of the material world. We accept death as a reality. We realise that whatever is happening in life is a result of one's own actions, one's Karma. We accept and surrender. We realise that the world is a cosmic drama, that we are actors who come and go, that we must learn to enjoy this Leela of God, this cosmic show. We realise that nothing belongs to us, so we live with the art of Detached Attachment. We live in Yoga. Yoga is not about asanas or pranayama, but being in union with the Divine, the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. We realise that neither are we the body, nor the mind and ego. We are the spirit, the Atman, the Soul. This realisation of the truth frees us from all suffering when alive, and from the Karmic cycle of death and rebirth after we die. When we live in the Consciousness of the truth, we experience seamless bliss, Ananda, SatChitAnanda.
The eradication of ignorance, the elimination of all negativity, misery and pain creates spiritual wellbeing, wherein we experience unparalleled peace and bliss, unknown to the common man. This is the ultimate wellbeing. One is at peace with oneself and with the world.