Spirituality: The heart and brain of sustainable development

Science and technology advancement has revolutionized the rapid development in all fields of our life, plundering the planet in a mindless race called progress. This makes us self-centered and greedy for material wealth, which leads to social disharmony and over-exploitation of natural resources, bringing in a dangerous ecological imbalance. This imbalance leads to the deterioration of all resources without preserving them for our future generations. This imbalance we see on our planet is a mere reflection of the unseen inner imbalance within ourselves. Spirituality is knowing our inner self and a sacred feeling of inter-connectedness. This inter-connectedness aims at changing the self by transcending short-term selfishness, disregard for others and a corruption of values. Spirituality indicates that human worth is not derived from matter and material possessions, or measured in consuming, having and doing but focuses on self-realization, where the individual learns the sacredness of life, respect for others and care for the natural world. It is clear, therefore, that sustainable development and development that sustains all people depend much on inner transformation and growth rather than on material progress and prosperity. Hence, we can say that spirituality is the heart and brain of sustainable development. Only an individual life rooted in continuous harmony with nature, a life based on moral and spiritual awareness can preserve the sanctity of the planet. The purpose of this paper is to deepen our understanding about the importance of spirituality, beyond the limits of religion, in our communities and organizations' and to understand its connection with sustainability by considering it as the fourth pillar of sustainable development. This paper further explains the difference between religion and spirituality and the steps for achieving spirituality to make this earth a livable planet for ourselves as well as for our future generations.