Atman in Ravi (AiR) on how technology can be used for inner growth and connection

Is there an interplay between technology and Spirituality? What is the connection between the two? How can one, on the path of Spirituality, benefit from the ever-progressing and ever-evolving technology? We can outrightly say that there's no connection between technology and Spirituality. Directly, there is, in reality, no connection between the two as they are two very different domains.Technological progress, in today’s era, can be seen explicitly in the growth and evolution of the digital social media. Spirituality is a subject that caters to the inner growth, the journey to go within ourselves and building connection with the self and Divine. It may sound odd but Spirituality and technology, in today’s world, are greatly connected.

So, the question that arises - How can digital social media and Spirituality have any possible interplay? Can digital media be used as a tool to help one, take the inner journey towards Self-Realization? Digital social media may directly not help in the progress of one’s spiritual journey but it can surely facilitate one in their spiritual quest. With the immense growth of knowledge base in the modern world, the digital world and social media has helped people overcome ignorance by handing them an easy access to knowledge. One of the major steps in the journey of Spiritual Awakening is Gyana – to become a Gyani and know about the scriptures. Technological advancement has made scriptures, religious and spiritual texts and discourses easily available to seekers who are sincere to progress on the path of Spirituality.
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These texts and scriptures are ancient and written in a language that was not taught to the masses. So, the access was limited, then but the growth in technology has brought these ancient texts and scriptures to the palmtops of the masses. With advanced digital tools, people are able to translate the texts, know and understand what is written in them, take the benefit of the spiritual science and ultimately, awaken to the Realization of the Truth. In fact, the digital and e-learning methodology boomed during COVID, when the world was shut down and there were no means to physically learn anything. That is when majority of everything, even the religious and spiritual texts, became available in an e-learning format. The concept of e-learning, digital learning and digital networking has opened a new doors of progress towards spiritual evolution of mankind. People are harnessing these digital tools, not directly for inner growth but to overcome their ignorance, differentiate the truth from the myth, realize the truth and thereby building a connection with the Divine, which is the ultimate goal of Spirituality.

The growth of technology in today's life has also greatly helped people, ask questions. Earlier, one used to consider religion and Spirituality to be the same but now, with so many various viewpoints that are being presented, one has come to understand that religion and Spirituality are not the same. Religion is just one of the earliest steps towards Spirituality. Earlier, religion was blindly followed and people were told that it is blasphemous to question it but today, because of the digital tools available, inner growth is possible. People are able to question everything and also connect with different people in the world, who are also on the path of Spiritual Awakening, in a matter of seconds.
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On the path of Spiritual Awakening, the role of a Master or a Guru is irreplaceable. Nobody or nothing can replace the knowledge and teachings of an Enlightened Master or Guru. In the earlier days, one had to be in a Gurukul, to be under the guidance of a Guru. But today, with the advanced technology, one can be in any part of the world and still get the guidance of a Guru or the Spiritual Mentor, who may be several continents away, through the digital tools available. Today, I conduct sessions on Zoom every day at 8 pm, where over a 100 people from around the world join in, learn about Spirituality and the truth about life, death, birth, rebirth, Karma and Liberation. The technological advancement cannot replace a Master but the evolution of technology that has resulted in the invention of video conferencing has helped seekers to be forever connected with their Guru from any part of the world. This is surely helping them progress towards Spiritual Awakening or Enlightenment.
Yoga is an important aspect of Spirituality. It means, ‘Yuj’, or building a connection with the Divine. Today, through several digital applications, people are trying to practice meditation, Yoga and even communicate with their Guru or Spiritual Mentor, by asking questions and overcoming ignorance. There are many question answer applications that give people, the possibility to contemplate on several answers and then, discriminate and realize the truth.

Therefore, in this modern digital era, digital boom has helped people in their inner voyage in many ways. But the ground reality is that an inner voyage is a personal journey of inner growth and spiritual awakening of an individual. Digital evolution and technological growth cannot do anything directly for this. But can we say that somebody, who is using the digital explosion, be able to reach the state of realization, sooner? Yes, of course. In a nutshell, one’s spiritual quest can be facilitated through ready availability of knowledge and better connection and accessibility of a Guru. The advanced digital tools can also help one in ‘Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana’ – meaning - ‘Gaining knowledge, contemplating and discussing and then, Realize the truth.’
The growth and evolution in the digital sphere has created several tools and opportunities to help one the spiritual path and ultimately reach the destination called Realization or Enlightenment. These tools and technology may not cater to Spirituality directly but they are instrumental in one’s spiritual journey, inner voyage towards Self-Realization, God-Realization and building a Divine connection. The advancement of technology is also bringing more and more people on the path of Spirituality, embarking on a spiritual quest, overcoming ignorance, realizing the truth and ultimately, reaching a state of Enlightenment.
Contributed by: AiR Atman in Ravi, Happiness Ambassador, Author, Spiritual Mentor and Philanthropist