Spirituality and Rituals: Some Reflections on ex Opera Operato

Abstract

Books on spirituality often make heavy reading. In order to gain from them, it may require an intellectual capacity combining aspiration and understanding. This capacity is usually rare in any society regardless of the extent of assumed standards of literacy. Another reason for the requirement of intellectual capacity is a wide gap between ‘doing’ the experience of spirituality, and being motivated by ‘reading’ about religious states of minds. We assume that the two type of experiences are central to the aspirations of all those who have individual or institutional patterns of belief.