To many, spirituality has been the answer to most if not all problems. Whatever the area or field may be, spirituality connects us all and can find a way for you. Can the same be said for spirituality and social justice? Social justice is a concept that is hard to really place your finger upon, as you have multiple interests in various communities and social groups. So what is the link between spirituality and social justice?
Similarly, how can anyone be so sure that spirituality and social justice do indeed have a connection that can be transcended? Therefore, it is important to explore this aspect of both of the things to truly establish what it means. However, to begin exploring the connection between spirituality and social justice, it is critical to clear out fundamental topics that are related to this discussion.
What Is Social Justice?
Let’s begin with social justice. Everyone is aware of the concept of justice and being just. But the term obviously has a more social context where it comes to social justice. Generally speaking, when justice deals with a fair distribution of wealth and opportunities in a society and a righteous punishment and low abidance systems, it becomes social justice. This also includes the distribution of privilege in a society.
This concept is inclusive of the view that everyone should have equal and fair representation in wealth and other economic meters, to have a fair opportunity of climbing the social ladder, fair access to opportunities and resources. It also maintains that everyone should have their basic human rights as well as protection. Now, what could social justice possibly have to do with spirituality? It looks like a tough link to establish, but it is actually far easier than how you would expect it to be.
Spirituality And Social Justice
Spirituality is focusing on acknowledging and connecting to our higher selves, connecting to God or the universal spirit, and living life through harmony and peace with our exterior world, as it reflects who we are on the inside and is representing an order that is right for us. Even if we don’t know who this order organizes itself, or if it is happening in a dimension that we are not capable of understanding, everything is happening for a reason.
But how can you determine what is the exact link between spirituality and the universal connectedness with social justice? What is the relationship between spirituality and social justice? The entire process depends on some key traits of spirituality. Some of these key themes are as follows:
Connection
It is well known among the community that is aware of and practices spirituality that it brings connection. This connection is one of the main themes that help link social justice and spirituality together. This connectivity is often referred to when you talk about a union of many worlds. If not that, it brings a sense of something bigger than your own self.
How? Because of the connectivity that you feel, there is a feeling that there is a bigger picture in your life. And when you are feeling this connection you are feeling that you have enough for yourself and you don’t feel like you have to fight with others to have more, to earn more, or to be more. You find yourself to be a single piece of the perfect puzzle that you are a part of, and you are not seeking to forcefully claim something that is not yours, or forcefully taking something from others.
And you feel the same way about others as well. You see their perfect match into our world and universe, and you feel that you have enough to yourself that you can support others and let them be. Supporting them to fulfil their potential and reaching their goals, whatever those may be. When you are in that state of being, there is no need for justice to be enforced, as you are living harmoniously with those around you, and vice versa.
Once you can understand this perception and concept, it often leads you to question what role you play in the world. This helps in looking at things from a wider perspective. Hence, the connection brings with it a feeling of relationships with many other elements. Most importantly, it focuses on your relationship with some other people as well.
You can feel this connection with a higher power, that is often referred to as God in most religions. But that’s only when the context is religious. Other relationships that are formed through this connectedness are with other people in the same environment as you are. Mostly, spirituality makes you go beyond that.
It builds your relationship with humanity in general and transcends human traits such as ego and personality. When your spirituality goes beyond your own self, it is easy to notice how humans behave with each other in general. This helps brings to many people a sense of peace. This means they are encouraged and motivated to build harmony among the people they live with, rather than being motivated to ensure their materialistic survival or chasing after social status.
There are some common features that people exhibit when they experience connection from spirituality. Some of these features are the display of respect, dignity, and integrity. It also involves holding yourself accountable for your own actions. You might notice where this might be heading, but there is more that elaborates the link between spirituality and social justice.
Connection With Humanity
In many religious cultures, there is a lot of importance on the connection with the rest of humanity. Spirituality brings the same reason for the connection. It helps people realize the idea of belongingness in their community. It is basic manners to have respect and compassion for each other. However, many times people forget these basic values.
This is where many people fail to realize the connection between spirituality and social justice. Spirituality brings kindness and the connectivity builds a great deal of empathy for the rest of mankind. This enables many people to understand what the other person is going through and helps them realize injustice and act to prevent it when they see it.
Spirituality And Injustice
Injustice is a very important theme that is a part of this discussion as well. When you talk about spirituality building empathy and connection, it helps you see various ideas. These different perspectives help many people to understand when another person has experienced injustice. When someone or something has been unfair to them.
If you have ever been judged harshly, quickly, or in an unfair manner, you know how anyone would feel under the situation. Similarly, when other people understand the basis of this unfair judgement, it will help the people in fighting it. This concept of co-humanity is what will make the world a better place to live in.
Injustice is often intolerable. Oftentimes people do not deserve to be punished get punished, and people that should be punished get away with it. Same for rewards, as oftentimes people are not rewarded as they are. And these punishments and rewards should be within the society in relative terms. That is in itself a concept of social justice. It is where everyone has the right to basic protection, respect, and compassion along with equal opportunities.
Sometimes privilege trumps all. This is why spirituality can help in seeing the better side of things. When you experience connection, you realize the wealth that people around you may have or their privilege. However, there are also people who experience lesser privilege where they are suffering.
Another question that can be asked is how can injustice exist in a world that is established by spirituality, if that is the case? Why sometimes evil people flourish where good people suffer? How can that be happening in a world where we are connected by God and our divine nature?
This specific question has been discussed thoroughly throughout history, and this article is not the place to discuss, but one interesting thing should be said regarding this question, even if can not be fully answered. What if this injustice is another phase in our evolution?
Our planet and human consciousness are constantly evolving, from the big bang to the era of the dinosaurs, and so on. And when you think about the concept of justice, of being punished and rewarded according to your actions, what if this life is no more than a karmic cycle? Like in Anita Moorjani’s remarkable story of coming back from the dead, what if the death of our human bodies is not the end of this cycle, rather than just another phase in it?
Going back to our main theme, spirituality builds social justice where people start thinking beyond themselves and for others. Why? For a system that already exists within all humans.
Social Justice And Spirituality
Within all humans, there is an in-built sense of social justice. It is that place where they divinely believe that every human is equal. Not merely equal, but they deserve equal rights and equal access to basic necessities and opportunities. Again, when you have faith in the presence of a bigger picture, a bigger destiny, that involves all of us, you want the other pieces of the puzzle around you to flourish.
However, most people forget this when they get caught up in a world where there is excessive competition, and the illusion of constant struggle for social status and materialistic possessions. This kind of environment focuses on fostering injustice and crime to go ahead.
It relies on social injustice to survive. But that’s not how spirituality works. When a person is spiritually awakened, they start thinking about humanity as a whole. How it is critical that harmony and peace are maintained among all people. This kind of perspective liberates society from injustice, As it takes many steps towards making this place into a better world.
On an alternative view, it may be common that people who are naturally more connected to their spirituality, they would not have the power to bring about social justice, as they would be perceived by others as people who are naive, who ‘don’t understand how the world works’.
What should they do in this case? The best solution is to bring awareness. People who experience spirituality as a way of living may not have the power to control external factors, but they can convince others by showing them a different way to live life. Spiritual people can bring awareness to people, so they understand what it means to be connected.
With connection they can also understand the fundamental concept of social justice and maintaining peace. It will help build empathy and motivate them to work towards social justice. Influential people of society who are responsible for maintaining the social justice system are expected to act. If someone has the power to inform people of the link between spirituality and social justice, they should. This includes you as you are aware of the same.
Advocacy towards social justice is the only way it can truly be established. Without advocacy, there would be no awareness, no awakening and no social justice.
If everyone would understand spirituality and experience the connection even once, they would know social justice. The link between the two factors of spirituality and social justice is very strong. Yet, people are uninformed about it. If you have made it this far consider this your social responsibility to inform others about it too.
Social rights are not a concept that is only to be studied in worldly social studies, or be kept to protesters that are sometimes filled with hatred and violence, but it also has a spiritual side. This spiritual side makes the entire process easier to understand. Plus, it also makes it easier to carry out social justice, because then you understand the true cause behind it. The true cause being that every human being is equal and deserves the equal rights and opportunities.
And these social and spiritual transformations could even awaken you into a new awareness, a new reality.
