Vulgar demonstrations in the name of spirituality

The following is an excerpt from a samvaad (dialogue) session with Acharya Prashant.

Question: Acharya Ji, what is the significance of spiritual images?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Do you see where this question is coming from? It is coming from the popular notion of Spirituality which has turned Spirituality into a body of exotic, unquestionable, esoteric knowledge, not as something that is raw, throbbing, not something that is palpable, that can be touched, that is direct.

Just search on Google ‘Spiritual images’, you may do this right now, and see what kind of images you get. Somebody is meditating in the transcendental universe with a ring around his head- this is Spirituality for you.

Questioner: Light falling from above.

AP: Light from above. (Acharya Ji referring to one of the images)

Does this picture show that the fellow wants to buy a mobile phone tomorrow? This is not to be talked of in Spirituality. That the fellow is crazy after the latest model of mobile phone. You want to display him meditating atop some mountain, and some divine light is falling on him.

Do you know what is the popular notion of Spirituality and how it gets embedded in your mind? Tomorrow is Mahashivratri, and you will see a vulgar…