Spirituality for Youth

In this beginner's guide, you will get an insight into the concept and practices of Spirituality. The great masters of several spiritual traditions have left a treasure of wisdom, you just need to explore. Start exploring by reading this book. We will start by looking at the all-pervasive and omnipresent suffering that affects everyone. Then, we will look at how spirituality can eradicate or abstain this suffering in an individual. At the end, we will look at the various practices of spirituality that can be a part of your spiritual path. Spirituality is all about experiencing for oneself, experimenting for own self, and integrating it with self. Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? What is Spirituality? To answer all these questions, I started exploring various mystical and spiritual knowledge by reading books, religious or spiritual texts, teachings of great masters, and everything that I could lay my hands on. All religious traditions intrigued me and I wanted to know more about each one of them. I studied and practiced different religious traditions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and a few more. I also practiced some non-religious spiritual practices. Some of them are Humanism, Altruism, etc. What I found out was quite enlightening. Basically, all major traditions that I have studied till now talk about the same principles of life. They put forward a similar message of Love, Compassion, and Kindness. However, they all have different approaches to the same message. Self-development and self-discovery are two main concerns of my life. Every waking moment of my life is dedicated to these two things. I am constantly exploring either virtually or experimentally. It is a kind of obsession to keep moving, growing, or changing. At the age of 13, I had my first encounter with spirituality and since then it is a part of my life. My quest to find the true meaning of life began at a young age and I have made constant efforts to know more and practice more. After studying and exploring several religious and non-religious traditions along with a bunch of practices like introspection, experimentation, and meditation, I gathered all the wisdom and knowledge to make an accessible guide for everyone. In one part of the book, I have emphasized on the need of incorporating the practice of spirituality in the education system. Most teenagers are prone to addiction, mental diseases, unethical actions, etc. It is a vulnerable age where they don't have control over their thoughts. If the elders of the community or the school organization will introduce them to this ancient knowledge then a lot of these problems can be solved. As spirituality plays a very important role in positive youth development. When I look back at my teenage days, I wish someone would have shared all this knowledge with me. Keeping this in mind, I have gathered all the necessary knowledge which will be based mostly on 'Buddhist Religious Tradition' as I found it most suitable for me. However, there are several other religious and non-religious traditions mentioned in the book and I strongly recommend that you choose the tradition that best speaks to you. As I said earlier, the core knowledge of all spiritual traditions is same even if the approach is different.